The war between NFL star Antonio Brown and his former team has taken a dramatic turn after he leaked revealing text messages.
NFL star Antonio Brown’s rift with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is getting uglier by the day.
On Friday, the former Buccaneers receiver took to Twitter and Instagram to share screengrabs of alleged text messages he exchanged with Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians before Brown went viral for storming off the field during Monday’s game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.
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The images of the messages show a conversation between the coach and player about Brown’s ankle injury he initially suffered earlier in the season, and for which he missed five games.
The New York Post reports Brown shared a photo of himself getting treatment from a trainer on his right ankle, allegedly telling Arians he “can’t get to full speed” while dealing with the injury.
Brown’s reply came after Arians allegedly texted him on December 30, saying: “This is BA. Make sure your ready to go tomorrow. We ARE NOT resting for the playoffs.”
Brown appeared to try to prove the point that Arians was aware of his injury. He previously claimed Arians told him “you’re done” after Brown said he was too injured to play on Monday against the Jets.
In a separate message on Friday, Brown alleged that his teammates “knew nothing about (his) talks with coach (Arians) last week”.
“Don’t get it twisted. My brothers have been good to me. From Tom (Brady) to practice squad, we were a top-level unit. They have been good to me and knew nothing about my talks with coach last week,” Brown posted on Twitter.
“The team mishandled this situation. They let me down and, more importantly, my teammates”.
In a press conference this week, Arians told reporters that Brown did not inform him about the injury on game day — and declined to share details about “a conversation” he had with Brown before the receiver’s shirtless exit from the field.
The Bucs coach also said that if a player has an injury issue, they go to the trainer, and the trainer would tell Arians they’re out.
“Health over Wealth,” Brown tweeted with the alleged text messages, adding the hashtag “#Barbarian”. He also tweeted “Barbarian” before sharing the screengrabs.
Brown then shared a screengrab on his Instagram Story showing an alleged text exchange from December 24 with Tom Brady’s longtime trainer and TB12 business partner, Alex Guerrero.
He tagged Brady in the post, claiming Guerrero is “charging me 100k” despite “never doing the work on me!”
Brown added: “How u even work wit people like this! This is what I was dealing wit.”
Brown published the messages the morning after he shared a lengthy statement on social media accusing the Buccaneers of trying to force him to play through the ankle injury that he said requires surgery.
Brown’s lawyer, Sean Bursytn, said in a statement that he has seen MRI results taken on the receiver’s ankle that showed “a piece of loose bone … pressing into his ankle joint and a ligament snapped clean off the bone”.
Bursytn said Brown “needs surgery”. He also shut down “false rumours” that Brown’s exit in Monday’s win against the Jets is related to “mental health issues”.
On Monday, Brown left the clash against the Jets in the third quarter. Viral videos from the moment show him ripping off his shoulder pads on the sideline, before tossing his gloves and shirt into the crowd at MetLife Stadium. He then ran across the end zone to the locker room while pumping his arms in the air.
In a post-game press conference, Arians told reporters that Brown “is no longer a Buc”.
“I wish him well. If he needs help, I hope he gets some. It’s very hard. Because I do care about him,” he said. “I care about him a bunch. I hope that he’s OK.”
Brady has also repeatedly expressed his support for Brown.
The Bucs are reportedly having conversations with the NFL to determine how to move forward from the Brown situation.
The NFL has not yet addressed Brown’s exit and allegations against the Buccaneers and Arians.
This story first appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission
Originally published as Leaked texts escalate feud between Antonio Brown and Buccaneers
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