Brown: Bucs forced me to play injured
Antonio Brown on Wednesday said he is going to have ankle surgery and accused the Buccaneers of covering up his injury and forcing him to play while he was hurt.
“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. “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 orthopedic 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.”
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 organization.
“Antonio Brown never faked an injury in his life,” he tweeted. “It is incredible that people are pushing false rumors 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 percent inaccurate,” the statement said. Brown said he plans to play again next season after he recovers from his surgery.