Three minutes left in the third quarter. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were down 10-24 to the New York Jets in MetLife Stadium. On the bench, Antonio Brown started taking off his gear and throwing it to the stands, and leaving the field minutes later.
Antonio Brown has allegedly peaced out of today’s game against the Jets ? pic.twitter.com/8fNPl12ew5
— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) January 2, 2022
Right after the game, Bucs’ head coach Bruce Arians said that Brown was no longer a part of the team.
Bruce Arians says Antonio Brown is no longer a member of the team ? pic.twitter.com/FQVQVYPu1K
— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) January 2, 2022
On Wednesday, the seven-time pro-bowler released a statement sharing his point of view on the events that transpired. As of late, the receiver was dealing with an ankle injury that aggravated during the game.
Brown says that when the pain was too extreme he sat down and his coach asked him to return to the game to which Brown answered that he couldn’t due to the ankle. The coach’s answer: “You’re done” while he ran his finger across his throat.
“I didn’t quit. I was cut. I didn’t walk away from my brothers. I was thrown out. Being fired on the sideline for having a painful injury was bad enough. Then came their ‘spin’. Coach denied on national television that he knew about my ankle. That’s 100% inaccurate”, said Brown on the statement.
Brown also revealed that he underwent an MRI on Monday morning that revealed broken bone fragments in his ankle, a torn ligament, and cartilage loss. He also scheduled a surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
The Buccaneers haven’t released a response to Brown’s statement and didn’t have any immediate comment when reached by ESPN.
Brown signed with the Bucs in late 2020 and played his part in the Bucs winning the Super Bowl LV. He played in 15 games and he grabbed 87 passes for 1028 yards and 8 touchdowns in the two seasons he played in Tampa.
