Antonio Brown is determined to prove that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers knew about his ankle injury and forced him to play through it. In addition to issuing a lengthy statement on Wednesday, the star receiver has also shared some screenshots of text messages he allegedly exchanged with Bucs head coach Bruce Arians.
Brown argued in his statement that the Buccaneers knew he was bothered by his ankle injury leading up to Sunday’s game against the New York Jets. He said it became too painful to play through, but Bucs coaches demanded he go back into the game. After that, Brown claims one coach yelled “you’re done!” and ran his thumb across his throat.
On Thursday morning, Brown shared screenshots of his text exchange with Arians. Brown told Arians last Friday that he is “all in” but will not be at full strength.
The text exchange proves Arians knew Brown was bothered by the ankle injury prior to Sunday’s game. It does not, however, implicate Arians. Brown is claiming a Bucs coach demanded that he play through severe pain. All the text message said was that Arians wanted Brown to travel with the team in case he was healthy enough to suit up.
Brown’s ankle injury was supposedly extremely painful. Somehow, it did not stop him from hopping around the end zone after he stripped off his uniform and left the field (video here).
Brown seems to be preparing for an injury-related grievance. He also accused Tom Brady’s longtime personal trainer of stiffing him out of money. Things couldn’t be ending more poorly for Brown in Tampa Bay, which is hardly a shock.
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