Antonio Brown ‘no longer a Buc’ after stripping and quitting midway through a game

Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians says wide receiver Antonio Brown is no longer a part of the team after he appeared to quit midway through a game.

Antonio Brown appeared to walk out on his team midway through a match against the New York Jets. Picture: Getty Images

Late in the third quarter, Antonio Brown stripped off his jersey and pads on the sidelines of Sunday’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers-New York Jets game. He threw some gear into the crowd. He finished by running off the field shirtless, exhorting fans to cheer as he took a shortcut through the end zone to the tunnel.

It was a surreal scene that led to the end of his tenure with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and raised questions about the professional future of a receiver who has had regular brushes with trouble.

“He is no longer a Buc,” Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians said after the game. “That is the end of the story.” Brown appeared to simply quit on his team midway through Sunday’s game. It was just his second game back after an injury and receiving a three-game suspension from the NFL for using a fake vaccine card, which was only the latest instance of misbehaviour for a player who has faced numerous allegations of wrongdoing over the years.

Brown in action against the New York Jets. Picture: Getty Images

Arians told Fox afterwards that he was trying to get Brown to go into the game and that Brown kept refusing, at which point he told Brown to get out.

It wasn’t immediately clear from video of the incident how exactly the situation developed. He could be seen speaking to fellow Bucs receiver Mike Evans, who appeared to be trying to calm his teammate. Nonetheless, Brown ripped off his uniform, pads, undershirt and gloves and jogged off while giving away souvenirs. He waved his arms and flashed the peace sign as he exited.

When security guards saw a shirtless man running on the field, they initially believed it was a fan and intended to tackle him — until they were informed it was Brown, Fox sideline reporter Jen Hale said on air.

The Buccaneers were the team willing to absorb the odium of signing Brown in 2020 after a series of incidents that transformed one of the most talented wide receivers in the NFL into someone that most teams thought wasn’t worth the risk because of his behaviour. He settled a lawsuit earlier this year with a former trainer who accused him of rape and sexual assault. Additionally, he had been accused of sexual misconduct and sending threatening text messages by another woman.

Those incidents led to his release by the New England Patriots after just one game in 2019, which was shortly after the Raiders had stunningly cut him. He was later suspended for the first eight games of the 2020 NFL season for multiple violations of the league’s personal conduct policy.

But with the support of new Bucs quarterback Tom Brady, Tampa Bay took a chance on him. He came back and turned into an integral part of a team that won the Super Bowl.

The 2021 season created new problems, though. Prompted by accusations from Brown’s former chef, the NFL launched an investigation into whether he lied about his Covid-19 vaccination status — and found that he and two other players had fraudulent cards.

That forced Arians to try to explain why he let Brown remain on the team, even though Arians had previously indicated Brown would be on a one-strike policy. He responded by saying Brown had behaved well up until that point and that he didn’t care what people thought, only saying he wanted “what’s best for us”. Brown, for his part, seemed to blame the fake vaccine card fiasco on the media last week. “It’s a lot of drama,” he said, “a lot of drama you guys create.” Arians, during the press conference after Sunday’s game, declined to get into further detail about the decision and what happened.

“I’m not talking about it,” Arians said. “He’s not part of the Bucs.” Brady referred to it as a “difficult situation” and said “everyone should be very compassionate and empathetic to some very difficult things that are happening”. The Buccaneers were trailing the Jets by two scores at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey when Brown departed. His jersey and pads remained on the sidelines for the rest of the game.

Brady turned out to be just fine without him — leading Tampa Bay on a game-winning drive in the final minute.

The Wall Street Journal