Former gymnast Britney Taylor accuses Antonio Brown of rape in civil lawsuit

Her first gymnastics season was Jerry Reighard's 26th year in charge of the program. In 2010, the team went 20-5 overall, finishing No. 1 in the MAC Championships.

That same year, Taylor met another student-athlete, one that many have now heard of: Antonio Brown.

Related Stories

Taylor joined the Fellowship of Christian Athletes group at Central Michigan. In the first meeting she attended, she was paired as Brown's Bible study partner. 

Ten years later, Taylor has filed a civil lawsuit against Brown accusing him of rape.

In late June 2017, during a training visit, Brown and Taylor were watching a church service on Taylor's iPad. They were at Brown's home in Miami, Florida.

They often read scriptures, prayed and watched church services together, like during their time in Bible study at CMU, the lawsuit said.

That day Taylor was focused on the service. Brown was behind her back, and he began masturbating. He ejaculated on her.

Taylor, now 28, exclaimed, "Ewww!" according to the lawsuit.

"Oh 'B' ... you know, I'm sorry," Brown responded as he left the room, according to Taylor. 

There were two allegations of sexual assault like this 2017, along with alleged forced sex in 2018. The lawsuit states Taylor was raped by Brown on May 20, 2018, in a hotel room in Miami.

"You know you want this," the lawsuit said, describing the moment when Brown lifted her dress. Taylor responded by shouting, "no" and "stop," but Brown went on to penetrate her, the lawsuit said.

Brown has denied all allegations.

"He will pursue all legal remedies to not only clear his name, but to also protect other professional athletes against false accusations," his attorney, Darren Heitner, said in a statement.

Brown's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, spoke with ESPN to discuss the case. He said Brown will be cleared and called Taylor's intentions a "money grab."

“Antonio takes these allegations very seriously,” Rosenhaus told ESPN. “He is a loving father (of) five children, including a daughter. I myself am a father and I have two children, two daughters, that I love very much, along with my wife. I wouldn’t be doing this interview if I didn’t believe Antonio. These allegations are false. He denies every one of them. I’m very confident that his legal team has facts that will prove this.”

The New England Patriots, Brown's new team, also released a statement.

"We are aware of the civil lawsuit that was filed earlier today against Antonio Brown, as well as the response by Antonio's representatives," the organization said. "We take these allegations very seriously. Under no circumstance does this organization condone sexual violence or assault. The league has informed us that they will be investigating."

Taylor is represented by David Hass, a Florida-based attorney, New York attorney Jonathan Abady and Florida attorney Marshelle Brooks.

The former CMU gymnast is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for the harm Brown caused her, according to the lawsuit.

“As a rape victim of Antonio Brown, deciding to speak out has been an incredibly difficult decision. I have found strength in my faith, my family, and from the accounts of other survivors of sexual assault," Taylor said in a statement released by her lawyer. "Speaking out removes the shame that I have felt for the past year and places it on the person responsible for my rape. I will cooperate with the NFL and any other agencies; however, at this time, I respectfully request that the media please respect my privacy.”

The situation between Brown and Taylor goes back to Mount Pleasant, a small college town in mid-Michigan, in 2009. 

The relationship never fully ceased, despite obstacles along the way.

Asking for photos

Antonio Brown is one of the most well-known athletes in the nation -- an NFL superstar. 

He was just released from the Oakland Raiders and has since joined the Patriots on a one-year contract worth $15 million – with a $9 million signing bonus.

Ten years ago, Brown was a junior at Central Michigan, wrapping up a 2009 season where he registered 1,539 yards and 12 touchdowns.

He was well-known on campus but not throughout the country. Before coming to play for the Chippewas, he wasn't heavily recruited and ended up joining the team as a walk-on.

Shortly after meeting Taylor, Brown was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Taylor transferred to LSU for her junior season in 2012, but the two still remained in touch, the lawsuit said.

When Taylor was a senior, the lawsuit states, Brown sent a message to her on social media. He wanted a picture.

Taylor sent a photo of her face, but Brown asked for a more revealing image.

She refused and explained to Brown they were just friends. – nothing more than that, the lawsuit said.

The two did not communicate again until June 2017.

Reconnecting

Brown wanted to check in on Taylor and how she was doing, so he reached out to her over Facebook, the lawsuit said.

Taylor responded that she was doing well, explaining the success of the gymnastics training center she opened in 2016.

"During the course of this renewed contract, Brown indicated he wanted Ms. Taylor's help improving flexibility and strength in his ankles and fast twitch muscles," the lawsuit said, "areas in which she had developed expertise through gymnastics."

Brown and Taylor agreed that she'd work for him as a personal trainer, the lawsuit said. She flew to Pittsburgh and Florida, where Brown had homes, on multiple occasions.

The lawsuit said Taylor never dated or had any interest in Brown. As far as she was concerned, it was a "brother-sister" type of relationship, the lawsuit said.

Brown, however, admits to having sex with Taylor, according to a statement from Heitner, his attorney. It was consensual, Brown states, not rape.

The first incident Taylor described was when in early June 2017, on a training trip at his house near Pittsburgh, the lawsuit said, along with that he did not buy a hotel room for her.

Changing in the upstairs bathroom, Brown walked in with his genitals exposed. According to the lawsuit, Taylor covered her eyes intently and left the room.

He grabbed and kissed her without consent, the lawsuit said. She pushed him away.

"Brown's actions made Ms. Taylor extremely uncomfortable," the lawsuit said. "She was in a long-term and serious relationship with another man and had no interest in a sexual relationship with Brown."

Taylor continued as Brown's trainer.

She said she was moving past the prior instance in hopes the star receiver would no longer make advances at her, the lawsuit said.

It didn't end.

Brown allegedly ejaculated on her back in late June 2017. The two were watching a church service at his home in Miami. She was "dismayed, confused and embarrassed," the lawsuit said.

Her mother advised her to leave his home, but Taylor didn't do it before speaking with Brown's chef, one of her friends. 

Shortly after, she was fired by Brown over text message, the lawsuit said.

He also emailed her.

"I jack my dick on your back (and) slept with (you) (in) bed," Brown emailed to her, as noted in the lawsuit. "Fuck your knowledge bitch I been all pro before I even knew you. (You) hit me up online bitch crying I didn't hit you up!"

He also called her a "weak bitch," "fake ass hoe," "dum ass hoe" and "failed gymnast living in the past," the suit said.

Taylor cut off all contact with her former Bible study partner as a result of the situation.

Building her life away from Brown

In the time between, when the relationship was dissolved, Taylor opened a gymnastics training center for African-American girls in Memphis.

"She wanted to create a safe and supportive environment for young girls of color to thrive in the sport of gymnastics – something that was often missing for her when she was younger," the lawsuit said.

Within a year of opening the gymnastics center, Taylor was training 50 students and had 200 more on her waiting list, the lawsuit said.

"She even covered the cost of tuition for several students whose families were unable to afford it," the lawsuit said.

As Taylor opened her training center, Brown already was known as a superstar in the NFL. In the 2016 season, he accomplished his fourth consecutive and fifth career 1,000-plus yard performance. He was named First Team All-Pro for the third time in a row and ranked No. 4 on the NFL Top 100 Players.

In Feb. 27, 2017, just over a month after Brown's season ended, he signed a five-year contract with the Steelers. It was a four-year extension worth $68 million, making him the highest paid receiver in the NFL.

The two reconnected in June, four months after the new deal.

'She was completely alone'

Following two allegations of sexual assault in 2017 and the firing of Taylor as his personal trainer, Brown tried to get back in touch with her, the lawsuit said.

It was February 2018.

Brown thanked Taylor for help during the offseason. He said he "would love" to keep working with her, as long as there were the "right circumstance(s)." 

Taylor did not respond, the lawsuit said.

One month later, in March 2018, Brown reached out once again to see if Taylor hated him. He said, "I apologize first off with so much going on around me and my actions," according to the suit.

He also wanted Taylor to train him again, and she agreed as long as he "stopped flirting with her" and provided "hotel accommodations for each trip," the lawsuit said. Beginning in April 2018, Taylor returned as Brown's personal trainer.

As for this part, Brown and Taylor recall two different situations.

On May 20, 2018, Brown invited Taylor, another football player and a few friends to Miami clubs that night, the lawsuit said.

In Brown's opinion, through his attorney, Taylor "invited herself" to party with them for several hours before heading back to Brown's home, where everyone was staying the night.

"Ms. Taylor was planning to immediately drive to her hotel room but went into Brown's home to use the restroom and grab some food from the kitchen," the lawsuit said. "While Ms. Taylor was walking toward the front door, Brown grabbed her arm, told her he wanted to talk to her and pulled her into his bedroom."

Even before leaving the club, Brown's story claimed Taylor "solicited" him to return with her to his house, his attorney said.

Brown admitted to having consensual sex with Taylor that night, Heitner said.

Again, Taylor remembered it different.

After speaking for a few minutes, Taylor attempted to leave the room, the lawsuit said. Brown cornered her.

"(Brown) pulled her down on the bed on her stomach, pushing her face down into the mattress," the lawsuit said. "She attempted to physically resist, but he pinned her down so that she was unable to fight back."

Brown allegedly raped Taylor, as she protested and cried throughout, the lawsuit said.

"When Brown finally released her, Ms. Taylor stood up in a state of trauma and shock, crying in front of him," the lawsuit said. "Devastated and disoriented, she ran into his foyer and collapsed on the ground. No one came to her rescue or to help her in any way. She was completely alone."

She fell asleep later on at a stoplight while driving to her hotel, according to the suit.

The next day, Taylor went to Brown's house in Miami to get her items before flying back to Memphis, her hometown. 

Taylor wanted to talk about what happened.

Brown replied, "You made me feel like a rapist," the lawsuit said.

She left Brown's home and never worked for him again.

Brown responds to allegations

Through his attorney, Brown responded to the allegations with a story of his own.

Shortly after signing the four-year, $68 million extension, Brown was approached by Taylor, according to Heitner.

Brown said Taylor asked him to invest $1.6 million in her business project.

"Mr. Brown was not informed by his accuser that she had just been levied with a $30,000 IRS tax lien or that $300,000 of the $1.6 million so called 'investment' was used to purchased property already owned by the accuser and her mother," Heitner said.

Brown refused, and Taylor stopped communicating with him, his attorney's statement said.

Just like the timeline Taylor's lawsuit, the relationship between the two resurfaced in 2018. Taylor offered to travel to Brown's property (Pittsburgh, Miami) to train him for the upcoming football season.

"Thereafter, the accuser engaged Mr. Brown is a consensual personal relationship," his attorney said. "Any sexual interaction with Mr. Brown was entirely consensual.

The incident that Taylor describes as rape and Brown claims was consensual sex occurred sometime close to May 20, 2018.

Taylor traveled from Tennessee to Florida and returned at 2 a.m. to Brown's residences 10 days after the alleged assault. She also apparently asked for Steelers tickets.

Brown's attorney also made note that Taylor posted photographers of Brown on social media for financial benefit, the statement said.

"Mr. Brown, whose hard work and dedication to his craft has allowed him to rise to the top profession, refuses to be the victim of what he believes to be a money grab."

Taylor remains severely traumatized

Near the end of the lawsuit, there's an indication of Taylor's fear that she could have become pregnant or received a sexually transmitted disease from Brown.

Taylor tried to compartmentalize and live as if nothing happened, the lawsuit said. However, after several months, she had "near-daily panic attacks, frequent suicidal intentions and insomnia." She was in a "deep depression."

The alleged assault negatively impacted Taylor's relationship with her longtime boyfriend, who she had been with on and off since her time at Ridgeway High School in Memphis. He proposed to her two weeks after she claims Brown raped her.

It took her months to tell her fiancé what occurred and caused for stress between them, the lawsuit said.

Taylor took a polygraph examination, and the examination confirmed her account that Brown ejaculated on her in 2017 and raped her in 2018,  according to the suit.

"She will bear the scars of what Brown did to her for the rest of her life," the lawsuit said.

Central Michigan releases statement

Prior to the 2019 season, Brown donated six heated benches worth $105,000 to the football program.

The benches have his college number (No. 27) and number he wore with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders (No. 84) on opposite ends. In the top left corner, there's writing in gold text – "Boomin."

The Chippewas also have multiple photos of Brown throughout their facilities, and he even appears on the scoreboard before home games at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.

Due to the reported incidents surrounding Brown and Taylor, two former athletes, the university released a statement.

“We’re aware of the media coverage about incidents that reportedly occurred in another state after both parties left CMU’s campus. Thus, it would be inappropriate for us to comment.

“Central Michigan University takes seriously and investigates all known allegations of sexual assault and misconduct. Central is a leading university in raising awareness and prevention of sexual assault, and it provides students, faculty and staff with a variety of resources and counseling services.

“The benches are a one-time gift from Mr. Brown to the football program. Their continued use by the football team will be evaluated as the facts and circumstances of Mr. Brown’s civil litigation warrant.”