Antonio Brown continues to address his fallout with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
While it’s clear that Brown has some issues with head coach Bruce Arians and the coaching staff, that doesn’t mean Brown is angry with everyone from the Buccaneers organization.
The veteran receiver took to Twitter on Thursday, January 6, and made it very clear he has no issue with Tom Brady and the rest of the players on the roster.
“Don’t get it twisted,” said Brown. “My brothers have been good to me. From Tom to practice squad, we were a top-level unit. They have been good to me and knew nothing about my talks with coach last week. The team mishandled this situation. They let me down and, more importantly, my teammates.”
Arians and Brown Tell Different Sides of the Story
Brown made headlines over the weekend during the Bucs’ matchup versus the New York Jets. Towards the end of the third quarter with the Bucs trailing by two touchdowns, Brown stormed off of the sidelines after taking off his pads.
What has since ensued since the incident is a matter of each side telling their own versions of the story. Arians claims that he asked Brown to go back into the game and the receiver refused, as ESPN’s Jenna Laine explains. He also stresses how Brown did not mention anything about his ankle injury.
Brown’s version of things tells a different story. The receiver not only stresses how he did mention his injury to Arians, he says the head coach told him that he was done with the Bucs after refusing to go back into the game.
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AB Speaks on Sideline Incident
The 33-year-old receiver released a statement on Wednesday, January 5, revealing how an MRI on Monday revealed broken bone fragments, a ligament torn from the bone and cartilage loss.
“I took a seat on the sideline and my coach came up to me, very upset, and shouted, ‘What’s wrong with you? What’s wrong with you?’ I told him, ‘It’s my ankle.’ But he knew that,” says Brown “It was well-documented and we had discussed it,” Brown said. “He then ordered me to get on the field. I said, ‘Coach, I can’t.’ He didn’t call for medical attention. Instead, he shouted at me, ‘YOU’RE DONE!’ while he ran his finger across his throat. Coach was telling me that if I didn’t play hurt, then I was done with the Bucs.”
Brown continued to elaborate on what led to his “trigger.”
“I know we were losing to the Jets and that was frustrating for all of us. But I could not make football plays on that ankle,” he said. “Yes, I walked off the field. But there’s a major difference between launching from the line and taking hits, compared to jogging off the field with a rush of emotions going through your mind. I am reflecting on my reaction, but there was a trigger. The trigger was someone telling me that I’m not allowed to feel pain.”
Although Arians has stated that Brown is done with the Bucs, Brown still technically remains on the roster. As of Thursday morning, Brown had yet to be cut by the Bucs.
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Antonio Brown Speaks out on Tom Brady & Bucs: ‘Don’t Get It Twisted’