PATS RELEASE BROWN AFTER ANOTHER ACCUSATION
FOXBOROUGH, MASS. (AP) » Antonio Brown was released by the Patriots on Friday after a second woman accused him of sexual misconduct. New England is the third team in seven months to tire of the off-field behavior that has overshadowed his accomplishments as one of the NFL’s most prolific receivers for a decade.
The defending Super Bowl champions announced the move in a statement emailed to reporters, three minutes after Brown posted on Twitter: “Thank you for the opportunity @Patriots #GoWinIt.”
Brown has been accused of rape in a lawsuit by a former trainer. He also faces allegations that he exposed himself to an artist he hired to paint a mural at his home. Brown has denied the accusations.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady both declined to comment on Brown during their scheduled media availability Friday. Belichick said during the morning that the team was looking into “some things,” then cut off his news conference when reporters continued to ask about Brown.
Asked if he expected Brown to play in Sunday’s game against the New York Jets, Belichick said, “He’s on the roster.”
About five hours later, he wasn’t.
In the email attributed to “a Patriots spokesperson,” the team said: “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.”
According to a story in Sports Illustrated, the painter “received a group text message that appeared to come from the same phone number Brown provided to her in 2017. The text chain, with four other phone numbers on it, included photos of her and her children, with the person she believes is Brown encouraging others in the group to investigate the woman. The texter accused the artist of fabricating her account of the 2017 incident for cash.”
Lawyers for the artist said in a statement that the league and the Patriots “took our client’s concerns seriously.”
“She wanted the threats and intimidation to stop and we hope that will be case,” said a statement emailed to reporters from attorneys Lisa Banks and Debra Katz.