Antonio Brown claims that the team gave him a powerful and sometimes dangerous painkiller and forced him to play despite knowing he had a serious ankle injury.
The man says he removed his jersey and pads and walked off the field.
I relented to pressure from my coach to play injured because of my commitment to the game. Brown said in a statement that he gave his all for the team despite the pain and that the staff injected him with a powerful and sometimes dangerous painkiller.
The 7x Pro Bowler continued, saying that he could no longer endure the pain.
I played until it was clear that I couldn't use my ankle to perform my responsibilities. The pain was very bad. My coach shouted 'What's wrong with you' when he came up to me on the sideline. What is wrong with you? I told him it was my ankle. He knew that.
Unfortunately forAB, he says that he was demanded to go back in the game.
Brown said he responded. I can't. He did not call for medical attention. Instead, he shouted at me, "You're done!" while running his finger across his throat. If I didn't play hurt, he told me, I was done with the team.
Brown says the bottom line. I didn't quit. I was cut. I was still with my brothers. I was thrown out.
According to Arians, he never talked about an ankle injury with Antonio.
In what was one of the strangest and weird moments in the history of the NFL, the team and the player have differing views on what transpired on the field.
If you missed it, the defending Super Bowl champion Buccaneers were behind the NY Jets.
Brown was seen talking to Mike Evans on the sideline.
Then,AB, standing only feet from his teammates, removed his jersey, pads, and t-shirt. Brown walked into the locker room after throwing his shirt into the stands.
Antonio was seen taking a car to NYC after calling an app.
Brown was diagnosed with an ankle injury after seeing several top doctors.
They did not know until now that I had an urgent magnetic resonance on my ankle on Monday. It shows fragments in my ankle, a torn bone, and a loss of cartilage, which are beyond painful. The bone is bulging from the outside.
Antonio plans to have surgery to fix the damage.
He plans to play football again next year.
I will be back to full strength once my surgery is over. Business will be booming!
Will there be any takers?
Brown doesn't seem to be taking the situation too seriously despite the drama. After seeing the doctors, he stayed in NYC and went to the Nets game with Fabolous.
