Antonio Brown stormed off the field this past Sunday in what looked like the end of his career in the National Football League. However, the Buccaneers have not removed Brown from the team roster. Brown revealed his reasoning for departing the field in the first half of Sunday’s game, stating the team’s head coach, Bruce Arians, demanded that he play on a badly-injured ankle. Brown is in the news yet again for leaking text messages sent by Arians.
About the Text Messages
Brown used his popular social media accounts on Instagram and Twitter to share screen captures of text messages allegedly sent by Arians. The images reveal a conversation between the two pertaining to his injured ankle. Brown initially injured the ankle in Week 6 of the season, rendering him immobile for the next two months.
Brown also shared a photo with his followers that proved he received ankle treatment from a team trainer. Brown’s logic in sharing the picture is to prove that he was incapable of reaching full speed while battling the ankle injury. Brown also indicated in a different message that his Bucs teammates knew “nothing” about his interactions with Arians in the prior week.
Brown’s transmission of the treatment picture to Arians was in response to a message from Arians sent on December 30, stating, “This is BA. Make sure you’re ready to go tomorrow. We ARE NOT resting for the playoffs.”
“BA” as referenced above is short for Bruce Arians. In short, Brown is attempting to make the point that the team’s head coach was well aware of the fact that he was battling an injured ankle for much of the season.
Where Does Brown Go From Here?
Arians supposedly told Brown that he’s “done”, after the star wideout was too injured to finish Sunday’s game. Brown went on to state, “Don’t get it twisted. My brothers have been good to me. From Tom to the practice squad, we were a top-level unit. They have been good to me and knew nothing about my talks with coach last week. The team mishandled this situation. They let me down and, more importantly, my teammates.” Brown made the comments in a Twitter post on Thursday.
What’s Arians’ Take on the Brown Situation?
Arians’ Monday press conference was somewhat illuminating as he indicated to reporters that Brown did not let him know about the injury on Sunday prior to the game. However, Arians refused to share additional information he had obtained from Brown during a conversation with the mysterious wideout prior to his departure from the field.
Arians went on to state that if a team player has an issue with an injury, he is encouraged to speak with the trainer. The trainer is the one who determines whether the player is capable of playing the rest of the game or if he will be removed from the field of play for health and safety reasons.
It appears as though Brown followed this protocol yet it is not known whether the team trainer recommended that he sit out the second half of Sunday’s game. Though the Bucs won the game, Brown was clearly disturbed. Brown even went as far as tweeting “Health over Wealth,” and added the hashtag, “Barbarian” in a reference to his head coach, Arians.
The Role of Alex Guerrero in the Brown Drama
Alex Guerrero, Brown’s former personal trainer, traded text messages with the wide receiver on Christmas Eve that reveal the two no longer work with one another. However, Guerrero’s return text seems to suggest what Brown should say in response to the incident.
The wideout went on to post a screen grab of that conversation on Twitter and even tagged Tom Brady’s account to make him aware of the situation. This is an interesting twist to the Brown saga as Alex Guerrero is Tom Brady’s longtime personal trainer. Guerrero is also a business partner in Brady’s TB12 health products and training business.
Brown stated to Brady that Guerrero is charging him six figures for personal training despite not doing any work. The accusation was also made over social media. Brown went on to question Brady, asking, “How u even work wit people like this! This is what I was dealing wit.”
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Brown’s Attorney Enters the Foray
Sean Bursytn, the attorney for Brown, also made his voice heard throughout the drama. Bursytn issued a statement indicating he saw the MRI results taken on Monday that revealed a segment of the wideout’s ankle had “…a piece of loose bone.”
According to Bursytn, that loose bone pressed into the joint of the ankle, causing the ligament to “…snap clean off the bone.” If Bursytn’s observations are true, Brown is surely in pain and will require surgery in the weeks ahead. However, Tampa Bay has not officially removed the wideout from its roster, so there is a chance he will play another down with the team in spite of the seemingly never-ending drama.
