Antonio Brown’s Troubling Time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had a tumultuous past with Antonio Brown. The former NFL wide receiver signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Buccaneers after being cut by the New England Patriots in 2019. However, his time with the Buccaneers was marred with allegations of off-field misconduct, reportedly involving both one-time girlfriend and now-teammate, quarterback Tom Brady. His run with the Bucs was relatively brief and uneventful, Brown eventually moved on after being released by the team on October 27th, 2020.

The Allegations Against Antonio Brown

The troubles for Antonio Brown first began in September of 2019. Browns’ former trainer, Britney Taylor, accused Brown of sexual assault. These claims quickly came under investigation by the NFL. During the investigation, Brown was also accused of intimidating another accuser as well as sending intimidating text messages of a sexual nature to a woman he met on a video call. Brown denied the claims and was not charged for either incident.

The release of the accuser’s accusations caused the Buccaneers to put Brown on the Commissioner Exempt list, meaning that he could not play in any games until the NFL concluded their investigations. As the off-field issues continued to take precedence over anything else, the Buccaneers decided to cut ties with the wide receiver on October 27th, 2020.

The Consequences of Antonio Browns Actions

Before being released by the Buccaneers, Antonio Brown had been fined and placed on probation several times due to his off-field conduct. Most notably, in 2020 he was ordered to pay $219,200 in fines related to multiple legal and league issues, including sexual assault accusations.

In addition, the NFL announced in July of 2020 that Brown had violated their personal conduct policy and, as a result, he would not be allowed to engage in any football-related activities during the 2020 season. He was also barred from applying for re-instatement until 2021. As a result of Brown’s violations, the NFL has said Brown will be subject to additional discipline if he were to seek re-instatement in 2021.

Conclusion

Antonio Brown signed a one-year, $2 million deal with the Bucs and was then released from the team just four months later, due to his highly-publicized off-field issues. He was ordered to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and was suspended by the NFL for the remainder of the season. His troubles have followed him since he left the Bucs and it looks like it will likely be some time before he takes the field in an NFL game once again.