Thursday, March 28, 2024

Antonio Brown Says Bucs ‘Threw Me Out Like an Animal’ After Shirtless Game Exit

Antonio Brown
Antonio Brown takes off his shirt and leaves the game between his former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New York Jets on Jan. 2, 2022 (YouTube Screenshot)

*Tampa Bay wide receiver Antonio Brown released a statement via his lawyer explaining why he removed his jersey during Sunday night’s game against the Jets and walked off the field. 

The move reportedly prompted Bucs head coach Bruce Arians to boot Brown from the team after he said he was too hurt to continue playing. Brown had missed several games due to an injured ankle and apparently, the athlete had not fully recovered ahead of Sunday’s match-up against the Jets. 

“Coach was telling me that if I didn’t play hurt, I was done with the Bucs,” Brown claimed. After his refusal to play because of his ankle injury, he claims Arians “threw me out like an animal,” Brown added.

READ MORE: Antonio Brown on His Troublesome Antics, Mental Health & More | The Breakfast Club

Brown exited the field on Sunday after taking off his jersey and shirt and throwing it into the stands — peep the Twitter clip below. 

“Because of my commitment to the game, I relented to pressure directly from my coach to play injured,” Brown’s statement reads, per the Tampa Bay Times

“Despite the pain, I suited up, the staff injected me with what I now know was a powerful and sometimes dangerous painkiller that the NFLPA has warned against using, and I gave it my all for the team. I played until it was clear that I could not use my ankle to safely perform my playing responsibilities,” he continued. 

“On top of that, the pain was extreme. I took a seat on the sideline and my coach came up to me, very upset, and shouted, ‘What’s wrong with you? What’s wrong with you?’ I told him, ‘It’s my ankle.’ But he knew that. It was well-documented and we had discussed it. He then ordered me to get on the field,” Brown explained. 

“I said, ‘Coach, I can’t.’ He didn’t call for medical attention. Instead, he shouted at me, ‘YOU’RE DONE!’ while he ran his finger across his throat. Coach was telling me that if I didn’t play hurt, then I was done with the Bucs.”

Brown continued, “As part of their ongoing cover-up, they are acting like I wasn’t cut and now demanding that I see a doctor of their choice to examine my ankle. What they did not know until now is that on Monday morning I had an urgent MRI on my ankle. It shows broken bone fragments stuck in my ankle, the ligament torn from the bone, and cartilage loss, which are beyond painful.”

Arians told reporters that Brown is no longer on the team following Sunday’s shirtless exit. 

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