‘They threw me out like an animal and I refused to wear their brand on my body so I took my jersey off.’
Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Antonio Brown says he walked out of the Bucs’ game against the New York Jets due to an ankle injury, claiming that he was thrown out of the club “like an animal”.
The 33-year-old stripped off his jersey and pads as he made several gestures towards to crowd, before walking back to the locker room halfway through the third quarter of the match.
Speaking after the match, Tampa head coach Bruce Arians said Brown “is no longer a Buc” and that he was unaware of his injury.
The wide receiver, who was sacked before leaving the field, said that he played with “extreme” pain.
Arians also told Fox Sports that he instructed Brown to enter the game on two occasions, with the 12-year veteran refusing to do so.
“I was cut first and then I went home,” said Brown, who won the Super Bowl 55 with the Bucs last year.
“They threw me out like an animal and I refused to wear their brand on my body so I took my jersey off.”
Health over Wealth # Barbarian pic.twitter.com/5pxjpZ6491
— AB (@AB84) January 6, 2022
In a statement released through his lawyer on Wednesday, Brown said Arians was aware of the ankle injury that had already forced his to miss several games earlier in the season.
The wide receiver also claimed that he and the head coach had spoken about the problem over text before the match.
Brown added that he had painkillers injected in an attempt to play against the Jets.
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