Just as things had started to look as if they were changing for wide receiver Antonio Brown, they seem to have gotten worse.
The past week has been a whirlwind for the star wide receiver. This past Saturday Antonio Brown was released from the Oakland Raiders. A couple of hours later he signed a one-year $15 million contract with the New England Patriots. A couple of days later, Brown was accused of raping a woman who had worked as a trainer in 2017 and 2018.
Comments on both incidents have been running around since the stories have come out. With the stories coming out simultaneously, you can’t help but wonder whether they were connected. Could this be one of the reasons that he was released?
Was Antonio Brown released or was he fired? If you check his Instagram, you will see that he has been requesting his release from the Raiders and has been very adamant about being able to tell his own truth.
Brown said in a video posted on YouTube, “With all these false narratives antagonizing me, it’s time for me to control my own narrative.” Ultimately the decision to let the wide receiver go was on the Raiders. I guess the team had enough of his antics and decided it was best for the team to part ways with the wide receiver.
Continuing with his antics, after signing with the Patriots Brown decided to showboat his winnings. He posted a picture of a caricature version of himself in a Patriot’s jersey surrounded by money while talking on the phone.
While his ego was being pumped up, Brown could not imagine the turn his world was about to take. A couple of days after Brown signed a contract with the Patriots, Britney Taylor, a former trainer for Brown, accused him of sexual misconduct and rape. Right now, it is only a civil lawsuit, but it still has the potential to ruin Antonio Brown’s career. If the accusations are true, then his career should absolutely be over.
I am always one of the first people to jump on the bandwagon and support any woman who claims that they have been sexually assaulted, especially if it is an athlete that is being accused. The first thing that is almost always thrown out there when a female speaks out about sexual assault allegations is, they are either “doing it to get attention” or they are “doing it for the money.”
It seems to be a huge coincidence that the alleged rape victim is coming out with allegations now after he has been really big in the news. Could Britney Taylor be telling the truth? Yes, but timing is everything. In this case, it was poor timing on her behalf. By coming out with the allegations now, the accuser discredited herself to many people. She also met up with Brown two more times after the first occurrence. I can’t help but question why she would subject herself to that type of person again and put herself back in that situation.
Emails have since been brought forth to further make the point that he is guilty. The emails do in fact show Brown admitting to performing sexual acts with the woman, but it only shows one side of the conversation. As the saying goes, “There are two sides to every story.” There are really three sides to this story. There is his side, her side and the truth. In cases like these, the truth always comes out in the end.
Was Antonio Brown released by the Raiders because they knew that this allegation was coming out? Probably not, but that is an idea that has popped up out there. Is it a possibility that the team didn’t want this type of rep even though they have had controversial players on the team before? Will the Patriots bench the star wide receiver? Brown has been spotted practicing with the team. It’s safe to say they’re not looking to sit down one of their star receivers over something that hasn’t been proven yet.
The NFL has not had a great track record with disciplining players. I don’t think this time it will be any different.
