New England Patriots release former Central Michigan WR Antonio Brown
Antonio Brown has been released by the New England Patriots.
The former Central Michigan wide receiver was on a one-year, $15 million deal and was released Friday after playing just one game for the defending Super Bowl champions, per Adam Schefter.
Brown had four catches for 56 yards and one touchdown for New England this season.
The receiver was accused of an unwanted sexual advance when an artist working on a mural of Brown in his home for a charity auction was knelt down. She then found him to be behind her naked and covering his genitals with a small hand towel.
“He was flirty with me, but I paid him no mind because I was there on business—plus I had already seen him with multiple girls in the short time I was with him,” the woman said to Sports Illustrated.
The woman reported that the phone number that she previously contacted Brown with sent "intimidating text messages" on Wednesday night. The messages were saying that she was fabricating the entire story.
The texter described the artist as a “super broke girl” and asked someone referred to as “Eric B” to “look up her background history.” The sender then sent a screenshot of an Instagram photo she had posted showing the faces of her three young children, adding “those her kids... she’s awful broke clearly.”
Brown was also accused of sexual assault against former CMU gymnast Britney Taylor. Taylor accused Brown of two incidents of sexual assault in 2017 and 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 Taylor's dress. Taylor responded by shouting, "no" and "stop," but Brown went on to penetrate her, the lawsuit said.
The team issued the following statement on Brown:
“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.”
Brown's agent Drew Rosenhaus also issued a statement via Twitter: "It's unfortunate things didn't work out with the Patriots. But Antonio is healthy and is looking forward to his next opportunity in the NFL. He wants to play the game he loves and he hopes to play for another team soon."
