Whether Bill Belichick wants to talk about wide receiver Antonio Brown or not, he’s going to get asked about him. Repeatedly.
News broke Friday morning that, for at least this week, Brown will not be put on the Commissioner’s Exempt list while the NFL (and the police) investigate rape and sexual assault claims made against the wideout by a former trainer.
That, in itself, seems insane to me. There are texts that Brown sent the alleged victim, Britney Taylor, where he plainly admits to one of the accusations of assault.
These are the emails Antonio Brown allegedly sent to his accuser in the rape court. pic.twitter.com/hGHEbiY8F6
— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) September 11, 2019
That in itself should keep Brown from suiting up, but this is the NFL and the New England Patriots, so the rules change by the day.
When asked if AB would play Sunday, Belichick said, “We’ll do what’s best for the team.” When pressed, he tried to shut down the questions with “We’ll determine that. I’m not going to hand out a copy of the game plan here.”
Reporter: Are the plans to have Antonio Brown play on Sunday?
BB: “We’ll do what’s best for the team.”
Reporter: Will it be best for the team to have Antonio play?
BB: “We’ll determine that. I’m not going to hand out a copy of the game-plan here.” pic.twitter.com/J4RvGFNSYS
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) September 13, 2019
The truth is, it shouldn’t be up to Belichick to play Brown and, frankly, he might not anyway. As distractions go, Antonio Brown is building a Hall of Fame career, already surpassing all the other prima donna wideouts before him. If the texts are real (and, you know, come on) then Brown will be suspended indefinitely and that’s going to happen sooner, rather than later.
For his part, Brown and his agent Drew Rosenhaus, have denied all the allegations in spite of the text evidence for one of them.
Dan reports that Antonio Brown will NOT be on the Commissioner's Exempt list
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) September 13, 2019
“These allegations are false,” Rosenhaus told ESPN Wednesday. “He (Brown) denies every one of them. I’m very confident his legal team has facts that will prove this. Please allow the situation to play out. Antonio will cooperate with the Patriots and the NFL. In time, Antonio will be cleared. The claims are untrue. I’ll repeat this. This is a money grab. I believe this. This is a money grab.”
It appears, for at least a week, we have no choice but to “let this play out,” but as far as Brown cooperating with the Patriots and the NFL? I’ll believe it when I see it.
Antonio Brown went live on Instagram from the TB12 Sports Therapy Center. Alex Guerrero was there with him.
Brown: “No matter what they say. No matter what they hate, somebody’s still gotta go to work.”
He also recommends starting a football USA team. pic.twitter.com/kQBwUv2tZR
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) September 12, 2019
H/T: Metro.us, NBC Sports, NFL.com
