After a week of back and forth, Antonio Brown is officially bounced from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The release comes four days after AB threw off his helmet and jersey in the middle of the game and refused to check in to play. The Bucs made a statement.
“While Antonio did receive treatment on his ankle and was listed on the injury report the week leading up to last Sunday’s game, he was cleared to play by our medical team prior to the start of the game and at no point during the game did he indicate to our medical personnel that he could not play.
“We have attempted, multiple times throughout this week, to schedule an evaluation by an outside orthopedic specialist, yet Antonio has not complied. Maintaining the health and wellness of our players is of the utmost importance to our organization.”
According to Brown and his attorney, the star wide receiver told the team he was unable to play due to an ankle injury. Head coach Bruce Arians stated he was never told that in a press conference on Thursday.
“At no point during that game did he ever ask the trainer or doctor about his ankle — that’s the normal protocol,” Arians said Thursday. “We go through protocols during games. I was never notified of it. Obviously that was a disturbing thing. We were looking for him to go back into the game.”
ESPN reports Brown was actually upset by a lack of receiving targets. Arians stated, “the players know the truth.”
“We called for the personnel group that he had played in the entire game. He refused to go in the game,” Arians said. “That’s when I looked back and saw him basically wave off the coach. I then went back, approached him about what was going on.”
The Bucs will wrap their season against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday before they head to the playoffs.
