Bruce Arians shares what led to Antonio Brown being kicked off sideline

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers finally cut Antonio Brown on Thursday. Shortly after the roster move was made, head coach Bruce Arians shared his side of what led to Brown stripping off his uniform and leaving the field during last Sunday’s game.

Brown said in a lengthy statement through his attorney on Wednesday that he was bothered by his ankle injury and Bucs coaches tried to force him to play hurt. Arians told reporters that is not what happened. The coach says the trouble started at halftime, when Brown was frustrated that he wasn’t getting enough targets. His teammates managed to calm him down, but Brown was still angry when the second half began and refused to play.

“He was very upset at halftime about who was getting targeted. We got that calmed down. The players took care of that,” Arians said. “It started again on the sideline. We called for the personnel group that he had played in the entire game. He refused to go in the game. That’s when I looked back and saw him basically wave off the coach. I then went back and approached him about what was going on. (He said), ‘I ain’t playing. I ain’t getting the ball.’ That’s when I said, ‘You’re done. Get the F out of here.’ That’s the end of it.”

Arians also said Brown never informed a trainer or doctor during the game that his ankle was bothering him, which is the “normal protocol.” You can hear the coach’s full comments below: