The Tampa Bay Buccaneers released Antonio Brown on Thursday afternoon, hours after the wideout shared receipts and even his bank account information that included text strings with head coach Bruce Arians and Tom Brady’s personal fitness and nutrition guru.
The move comes four days after Arians declared Brown was “no longer a Buc” following the latter’s decision to make an abrupt exit during the third quarter of Sunday’s game against the New York Jets.
“The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have terminated the contract of Antonio Brown, effective immediately. While Antonio did receive treatment on his ankle and was listed on the injury report the week leading up to last Sunday’s game, he was cleared to play by our medical team prior to the start of the game and at no point during the game did he indicate to our medical personnel that he could not play.
“We have attempted, multiple times throughout this week, to schedule an evaluation by an outside orthopedic specialist, yet Antonio has not complied. Maintaining the health and wellness of our players is of the utmost importance to our organization.”
Brown released a cannonball statement claiming the Buccaneers forced him to play hurt and covered up facts related to his injury, an accusation that Arians forcefully debunked Thursday. Instead, Arians said Brown was upset at halftime over targets.
“At no point and time during the game did (Brown) ever ask the trainer or doctor about his ankle. That’s the normal protocol,” Arians said during a press conference. “He was very upset at halftime about who was getting targeted, got that calmed down, players took care of that. It started again on the sideline.
.”.. He refused to go in the game,” Arians went on. “I then went back, approached him about what was going on, ‘I ain’t playing … I ain’t getting the ball.’ That’s when I said you’re done, get the F out of here and that’s the end of it.”
Brown was at the keyboard Thursday with screen grabs of private conversations with Arians and Brady sidekick and business partner Alex Guerrero.
Brown released a text message string he purports happened last Friday with Arians — two days before the wide receiver removed his jersey and shoulder pads and fled the sideline during a game with the New York Jets.
In a separate screenshot, Brown shared an exchange with Guerrero that included detailed banking information, including routing and account numbers, in a pointed criticism of Brady’s TB12 business ally.
The text string with Arians includes this exchange:
“This is BA. Make sure you are ready to go tomorrow. We ARE NOT resting for the playoffs.
“Call me.”
Brown replied with a knees-to-feet photo of his right ankle being worked on and said, “I’m all in coach really cant get to full speed I wanna win wanna be there if I wake up tomorrow feel better I’ll be ready kinda rolled it outside on 2pt play I want what’s best for team lmk when you free I’ll call u.”
Arians, according to the screenshot Brown shared, replied, “Come see me in the morning. We’ll talk it out. Definitely want you with us in case you’re ready.”
Brown, based on his screenshot, loved the Arians reply.
Brown shared an image showing what he identified as a text string with Guerrero regarding the “half” of a $100,000 payment he wanted back. The messages were dated Dec. 24. In the Twitter post accompanying the text message history, he wrote “@TomBrady guy @ag_tb12 charging me 100k never doing the work on me! how u even work wit people like this! This what I was dealing wit.
“Then imagine your QB trainer charging you 100K then doing no work must be was a part of these guys plans all along.”
That message was deleted from Brown’s Twitter feed along with this text exchange from Christmas Eve:
“Hey ag if we not going to work any more that’s fine Lmk about the 100K I paid you only fair get back half my money lmk how to proceed.”
A response labelled with the name Alex Guerrero came around two hours later.
“Good morning AB. I appreciate you reaching out to me. I completely understand you want to go in a different direction. Thank you for the opportunity to work together. I hope for your continued success on and off the field. Please let me know where you want to send the balance. Big hugs my friend.”
Brown replied with detailed banking account information with full routing and account numbers shared via Twitter. He later deleted the post, but it had thousands of views before banking hours Thursday.
In his Wednesday statement released through his attorney, Brown said he was coaxed into playing hurt and took a painkiller the NFLPA discourages using. He said the ankle has painful bone fragments and a ligament torn from the bone, which will require surgery. He did not provide medical support or imaging to back that part of the story.
Brown, 33, was in his second season with the Buccaneers and won the Super Bowl with Tampa Bay last season.
Brown returned to Twitter later Thursday morning to clarify he felt supported by teammates, including Brady.
“Don’t get it twisted. My brothers have been good to me. From Tom to practice squad, we were a top-level unit. They have been good to me and knew nothing about my talks with coach last week. The team mishandled this situation. They let me down and, more importantly, my teammates.”
Prior to Sunday’s game in New York, Brown had played just once in two months — the week prior at Carolina — and was targeted 15 times by Brady as the Buccaneers deal with injuries and depth concerns at the position.
His future with the team was in serious doubt in December based on “inaccurate representation of his vaccination status” and reports he purchased a fake vaccination card.
But Arians decided to welcome Brown back while he continued rehab for an ankle injury that was listed on the injury report.
Arians said on Wednesday he agreed with a reporter who asked if it was a matter of “how and not when” the Buccaneers parted with Brown.
The French league’s legal commission has ordered Paris Saint-Germain to pay Kylian Mbappé the 55 million euros ($61 million) in unpaid wages that he claims he’s entitled to, the league said Thursday.
The league confirmed the decision to The Associated Press without more details, a day after the France superstar rejected a mediation offer by the commission in his dispute with his former club.
PSG officials and Mbappé’s representatives met in Paris on Wednesday after Mbappé asked the commission to get involved. Mbappé joined Real Madrid this summer on a free transfer.
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former football star Reggie Bush was at his Encino home Tuesday night when three male suspects attempted to break in, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
“Everyone is safe,” Bush said in a text message to the newspaper.
The Los Angeles Police Dept. told the Times that a resident of the house reported hearing a window break and broken glass was found outside. Police said nothing was stolen and that three male suspects dressed in black were seen leaving the scene.
Bush starred at Southern California and in the NFL. The former running back was reinstated as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner this year. He forfeited it in 2010 after USC was hit with sanctions partly related to Bush’s dealings with two aspiring sports marketers.
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VANCOUVER – A fresh face has been gracing the B.C. Lions‘ highlight reels in recent weeks.
Midway through his second CFL campaign, wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt has contributed touchdowns in two consecutive games.
The 26-year-old wide receiver from Loveland, Colo., was the lone B.C. player to reel in a passing major in his team’s 37-23 victory over the league-leading Montreal Alouettes last Friday. The week before, he notched his first CFL touchdown in the Lions’ win over the Ottawa Redblacks.
“It’s been awesome. It’s been really good,” Eberhardt said of his recent play. “At the end of the day, the biggest stat to me is if we win. But who doesn’t love scoring?”
He’ll look to add to the tally Friday when the Leos (7-6) host the Toronto Argonauts.
Eberhardt signed with B.C. as a free agent in January 2023 and spent much of last season on the practice squad before cementing a role on the roster this year.
The six-foot-two, 195-pound University of Wyoming product has earned more opportunities in his second season, said Lions’ head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell.
“He’s a super hard worker and very smart. He understands, has high football IQ, as we call it,” Campbell said.
The fact that Eberhardt can play virtually every receiving position helps.
“He could literally go into a game and we could throw him into a spot and he’d know exactly what he’s doing,” the coach said. “That allows him to play fast and earn the quarterback’s trust. And you see him making plays.”
Eberhardt credited his teammates, coaches and the rest of the Lions’ staff with helping him prepare for any situation he might face. They’ve all spent time teaching him the ins and outs of the Canadian game, or go over the playbook and run routes after practice, he said.
“I’ve played every single position on our offence in a game in the last two years, which is kind of crazy. But I love playing football,” he said. “I want to play any position that the team needs me to play.”
While B.C.’s lineup is studded with stars like running back William Stanback — who has a CFL-high 938 rushing yards — and wide receiver Justin McInnis — who leads the league in both receiving yards (1,074) and receiving TDs (seven) — versatility has been a critical part of the team’s back-to-back wins.
“I think we’ve got a lot of talented guys who deserve to get the ball and make big plays when they have the ball in their hands. So it’s really my job to get them the ball as much as possible,” said quarterback Nathan Rourke.
“I think that makes it easy when you can lean on those guys and, really, we’re in a situation where anyone can have a big game. And I think that’s a good place to be.”
Even with a talented lineup, the Lions face a tough test against an eager Argos side.
Toronto lost its second straight game Saturday when it dropped a 41-27 decision to Ottawa.
“We’ll have our hands full,” Rourke said. “We’ll have to adjust on the fly to whatever their game plan is. And no doubt, they’ll be ready to go so we’ll have to be as well.”
The two sides have already met once this season when the Argos handed the Lions a 35-27 loss in Toronto back on June 9.
A win on Friday would vault B.C. to the top of the West Division standings, over the 7-6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers who are on a bye week.
Collecting that victory isn’t assured, though, even with Toronto coming in on a two-game skid, Campbell said.
“They’ve hit a little bit of a rut, but they’re a really good team,” he said. “They’re very athletic. And you can really see (quarterback Chad Kelly’s) got zip on the ball. When you see him in there, he can make all the throws. So we’re expecting their best shot.”
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (6-6) AT B.C. LIONS (7-6)
Friday, B.C. Place
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Lions boast a 4-1 home record this season, including a 38-12 victory over the Redblacks at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, B.C., on Aug. 31. The Argos have struggled outside of BMO Field and hold a 1-5 away record. Trips to the West Coast haven’t been easy for Toronto in recent years — since 2003, the club is 4-14 in road games against B.C.
CENTURION: B.C. defensive back Garry Peters is set to appear in his 100th consecutive game. The 32-year-old from Conyers, Ga., is a two-time CFL all-star who has amassed 381 defensive tackles, 19 special teams tackles and 16 interceptions over seven seasons. “Just being on the field with the guys every day, running around, talking trash back and forth, it keeps me young,” Peters said. “It makes me feel good, and my body doesn’t really feel it. I’ve been blessed to be able to play 100 straight.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
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