Antonio Brown’s Status With NFL in Jeopardy After New Incident: Report

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have given Antonio Brown glowing reviews since his signing, but there is already an incident the team has had to address. According to Miami Herald’s David Ovalle, Brown was accused of destroying a surveillance camera in the gated community where he lives in Hollywood, Florida. The incident in question took place on October 15 which is less than two weeks before the Buccaneers signed Brown.

“Antonio Brown, the superstar wide receiver who recently returned to the NFL after a slew of off-the-field troubles, was accused last month of angrily destroying a surveillance camera at the gated community in Hollywood where he lives and throwing his bicycle at a security-guard shack, according to a police report obtained by the Herald,” Ovalle reported. “Hollywood police determined there was probable cause to charge Brown with misdemeanor criminal mischief for the Oct. 15 incident, the report said. But the homeowners association president declined to press charges, according to the report, saying she feared Brown ‘may retaliate against her employees.'”

The Buccaneers were aware of the incident, and all indications are it will not impact his status with the team. The Athletic’s Greg Auman reported it is still the kind of incident that could cause Brown to receive additional discipline from the NFL or be viewed as a violation of his current probation.

“Even if the Bucs aren’t cutting Brown, this could be taken as a violation of his current probation relating to moving truck driver charges, or an NFL issue as something he did while on suspension for violating their personal conduct policy,” Auman said on Twitter.

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Brown Expressed Regret That He ‘Lost His Cool’

Brown was not charged with anything for the incident. During an interview with the Miami Herald, Sylvia Berman, the HOA president, described the incident as “too minor” to press charges and added that Brown agreed to replace the camera. Brown’s spokeswoman Alana Burstyn released a statement noting the receiver “regrets that he lost his cool that day” but expressed concern that he is being targeted.

“Antonio regrets that he lost his cool that day and he has made amends with the HOA,” Burstyn told the Miami Herald. “However, he is rightly concerned that he is routinely targeted by some people for mistreatment and undue scrutiny because he is Antonio Brown. He wants to be a good neighbor, good citizen and a good teammate.’’

The Miami Herald detailed more about the sequence of events involving Brown obtained from the police report.

‘Brown then approached the guard shack and began to strike one of the surveillance cameras, causing it to break,’ the report said. The guard was unsure if he used his hand or some sort of object.

But Brown left — and the guest pulled back around trying to get in. The guard, the report said, again denied him access. Brown returned, cursed the guard and ‘threw his bicycle at the guard gate arm,’ causing the gate to get stuck in the up position. The report said Brown got into the blue car and they drove off into the neighborhood.

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The Bucs Were Aware of the Incident Prior to Signing A.B.

The Buccaneers released a statement noting that they were aware of the incident prior to signing Brown. ESPN’s Jenna Laine reported that the NFL was unaware of the latest incident before reinstating Brown.

The league has not commented on the October matter but has continuously stated Brown can face additional discipline if more evidence on his legal cases is brought to light. Brown is expected by the NFL to be on his best behavior after already serving an eight-game suspension this season.

“We are aware of the reported incident involving Antonio Brown prior to his signing,” the Buccaneers said in a statement, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. “When Antonio joined us, we were clear about what we expected and required of him. Thus far, he has met all the expectations we have in place.”

Laine broke down the timeline between the camera incident and when the Buccaneers met with Brown.

“As part of his two years of probation, Antonio Brown was ordered to undergo 13 weeks of anger management back in June,” Laine tweeted. “The alleged incident with the surveillance camera and security guard happened Oct. 15. He flew to Tampa Oct. 23 — eight days later.”

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