Axed NFL star Antonio Brown accuses Tampa Bay of injury cover up

After he was axed by the Buccanneers for abandoning his side mid-game, Antonio Brown has accused his former team of a cover up.

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - JANUARY 02: Antonio Brown #81 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers looks on against the New York Jets during the game at MetLife Stadium on January 02, 2022 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Antonio Brown said he is going to have ankle surgery and accused the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of covering up his injury and forcing him to play while he was hurt, the New York Post reports.

“Because of my commitment to the game, I relented to pressure directly from my coach (Bruce Arians) to play injured,” Brown said in a statement via his attorney Sean Burstyn.

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“Despite the pain, I suited up, the staff injected me with what I know was a powerful and sometimes dangerous painkiller that the NFLPA has warned against using, and I gave it all for my team.”

Brown, who did not reveal which ankle was hurt, said he played with the injury until it became untenable, adding that he didn’t quit on “his brothers” but was “cut” and “thrown out” by the Buccaneers.

Brown, 33, and Burstyn also said the controversial receiver underwent an MRI exam on Monday, confirming a previous Tampa Bay Times report, adding that it was read by two orthopaedic surgeons at the Hospital for Special Surgery, including Dr. Martin O’Malley, and that it showed broken fragments in his ankle.

The statement also said the Buccaneers ordered Brown to get a second opinion from a “junior doctor” at HSS and called it a “joke.”

Antonio Brown took off his uniform and ran off mid-game.

According to the statement, Brown sat on the bench after the pain became too “extreme, but Arians made him return to the field.

“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’,” Brown said in the statement.

“But he knew that. It was well documented and we had discussed it.

“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.”

Earlier this week, Arians told Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer that he was trying to get Brown into the game and the wide receiver refused. When he refused a second time, Arians reportedly told him to get out. Burstyn also took to Twitter to defend Brown, while ripping the Buccaneers organisation.

Antonio Brown says the Bucs forced him to play injured. Photo: Elsa/Getty Images/AFP

“Antonio Brown never faked an injury in his life,” he tweeted. “It is incredible that people are pushing false rumours that what happened Sunday was the result of mental health issues and not a well known ankle injury. Mental health is important, but so is basic dignity. #CutAndCage”

The statement also said Arians lied, on national television, about not knowing Brown hurt his ankle, saying the two exchanged texts days before the game regarding his health.

“That’s 100 per cent inaccurate,” the statement said.

Brown said he plans to play again next season after he recovers from his surgery.

With AP

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and has been reproduced with permission.