Antonio Brown Released: Patriots Release Statement on Brown

Getty MIAMI, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 15: Antonio Brown #17 of the New England Patriots celebrates with head coach Bill Belichick after scoring a 20 yard touchdown thrown by Tom Brady #12 against the Miami Dolphins during the second quarter in the game at Hard Rock Stadium on September 15, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

The New England Patriots are moving on from Antonio Brown.

Brown seemed to indicate the move through Instagram before it was reported by any media outlet before Ian Rapoport of NFL Network did indeed confirm that the Pro Bowl wide receiver has been released by the Patriots — the second time in two weeks that the superstar player has been cut by a team.

Needless to say, the Patriots confirmed the move shortly thereafter, releasing their own team statement regarding the decision to move on from Brown after he appeared in just one game with New England.

“The New England Patriots are releasing Antonio Brown. We appreciate the hard work of many people over the past 11 days, but we feel that it is best to move in a different direction at this time.”

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AB Lasts Less Than Two Weeks in New England

Brown was released by the Oakland Raiders on September 7 before quickly latching on with the Patriots just hours before their Week 1 matchup against his former team, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The first year of the deal was worth $15 million and $9 million in bonuses. However, similar to his previous deal with the Raiders, Brown won’t earn that $9 million now that he’s been released by the Patriots.

In his lone appearance with New England, Brown caught four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown in the team’s 43-0 win over the Miami Dolphins in Week 2. Brown had kept mostly silent during his tenure with the Patriots. However, new accusations from a second accuser revealing threatening texts from Brown likely contributed to his release.

Brown questioned the allegations from the second accuser via text. The allegations are from an SI piece leaked earlier in the week revealing Brown’s alleged past behavior. The NFL had begun investigating the recent text messages, according to NFL.com’s Andie Hagemann.

The NFL is investigating “intimidating” text messages allegedly sent by Antonio Brown.

A female artist, who was hired to paint a mural in Brown’s Pittsburgh home in 2017, came forward to Sports Illustrated earlier this week with allegations regarding the wide receiver making past unwanted advances toward her.

In text messages presented to S.I., Brown questioned the allegations of the second accuser and encouraged those in the group text chain to investigate her.

The accuser’s attorney, Lisa J. Banks sent a letter to the league asking for Brown to stop sending similar messages to her client and to step in, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Friday’s edition of NFL Now.

The accuser’s attorney released the following statement in response to Brown’s texts.

“Our client … is understandably frightened by these text messages, which are clearly intended to threaten and intimidate her,” the lawyer wrote. “While she certainly qualifies as a ‘starving artist,’ she has never approached Mr. Brown, nor will she, about seeking money to compensate her for his sexual misconduct, contrary to his allegations in the text messages.”

Brown is also dealing with sexual assault accusations from the first accuser, Britney Taylor, as the NFL continues to investigate that matter.

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