Antonio Brown is ready to take the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to court. The former Buccaneers wide receiver and his attorney, Sean Burstyn, appeared on HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel and said they intend to sue the team for releasing him after he said he was too injured to play against the New York Jets earlier this month. It was the same game where Brown left while the two teams were still playing.
Burstyn said on Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel that they will pursue money from Brown’s ankle surgery and money they feel he is owned by the NFL collective bargaining agreement. “Antonio was defamed by this spin that he had a mental health episode that makes him someone who’s not reliable to do a good job on the field,” Burstyn said, per ESPN. “So we’re pursuing internally all of our rights under the CBA and considering them and maybe stepping outside of the CBA.
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“All of our options are on the table. We’re going to hold to account the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bruce Arians, the general manager to the extent anyone who’s responsible for this spin that Antonio isn’t reliable to do a good job playing football because he doesn’t have the mental fortitude to do it. They’ll be held to account.”
When asked how much money they were seeking, Brown said, “A whole lot of money. A whole lot.” Brown also said the Buccaneers disrespected him when they questioned his mental health. “So to drag people along and play on people’s mental health, you know, is so unfair and unfortunate,” Brown explained.
Before the episode aired, a clip was released and showed Brown saying the Buccaneers offered him $200,000 to seek mental health treatment. “These guys at the Tampa Bay Bucs tried to make an agreement with me to give me $200,000 to go to the crazy house so these guys could look like they know what they were talking about,” Brown said.
Brown was with the Buccaneers for nearly two seasons. He signed with the team in 2020 and helped the team win the Super Bowl last season. In his career, Brown was a member of the New England Patriots, Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers, and every team either traded or released him for multiple reasons.
