Apr. 22: Brown is not out of the woods quite yet with respect to potential NFL discipline. As Stroud tweets, the league is still reviewing the matter for a potential violation of the personal conduct policy. Speculatively, that could mean that Brown will have to wait a little longer to re-sign with the Bucs or agree to terms with any other club.
As Greg Auman of The Athletic observes, GM Jason Licht was fairly non-committal after the news of the settlement. “We’ve had discussions throughout the offseason … we’ve put an emphasis on bringing back players from last year … [Brown] would be no different,” Licht said. “[The settlement is] not necessarily the deciding factor on whether we’re going to continue to talk” (Twitter links).
Apr. 21: The civil suit that Britney Taylor filed against Antonio Brown over a year ago has been settled, according to one of Brown’s representatives (via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, on Twitter).
A former Brown trainer, Taylor accused him of multiple instances of sexual assault. This matter was folded into the NFL’s investigation of the veteran wide receiver. Brown’s 2020 suspension did not cover Taylor’s accusation, and the threat of an additional ban loomed because of it.
This suit, which the COVID-19 pandemic delayed, was supposed to go to trial in December 2021. However, the 32-year-old receiver appears in the clear on this front now.
This matter surfaced after Brown signed with the Patriots in 2019. Brown denied the allegations, but both he and Taylor separately met with the NFL in September 2019. After another sexual misconduct allegation emerged, Brown’s sending of threatening text messages to that accuser ended up leading him out of New England.
However, the Buccaneers signed him midway through the 2020 season. He ended up making key contributions to the team’s second Super Bowl championship. The Bucs have made a host of re-signings this offseason, doing plenty to keep their championship core together. Brown remains on the team’s radar, and the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud expects Wednesday’s resolution to pave the way for another Brown deal with the Bucs in the near future (Twitter link).
AB sat for a while, not a full season. Watson will do the same, but he’s a whole lot cheaper now and more PO’ed. Detroit, Denver any other top 10 draft team should throw their pick towards Houston.
Watson has 21 accusers. Should that mean he should get 21 times that punishment Brown got?
If only found guilty. They’ll be paid off over the summer. I think we all know that. ‘Something happened….hush’. Will be the outcome.
For the millionth time, you do not need to be ‘found guilty’ for the NFL to impose a punishment on you.
That’s right. And I have stated around a million times, Watson will sit around 4-6 weeks. That’s it.
You said ‘if only found guilty’. Being found guilty, for the millionth time, has absolutely nothing to do with it.
I think maybe he means in regards to the weight of the punishment? Being found guilty would certainly elevate the punishment beyond what it would be otherwise.
However, this is also a civil case in this particular instance, so the court is not trying to determine guilt, just liability. That’s a much lower standard than guilt.
If found guilty in court (my own words). I know the league can sit players well before a court makes its decision. Can you read? AB played last year– after sitting for a few games—Months later, they have now they have settled.
Don’t overthink this, it may cause a seizure.
Pro sports leagues and nfl especially are inconsistent with how they handle these situations. I get each situation is different but it’s still unsettling in the consequences or lack of.
Is he in the clear?
Or has he admitted guilt, opening the door to another suspension?
Can you NDA your way out of an NFL ban?
This particular drama looked like a bit of cash grab. The victim only chirped up when Brown welched on a promise to give her $50k to start up her business. Not sure the NFL wants to jump in here. But Brown does enough weird stuff (attacking delivery drivers, threatening ex-girlfriends) that there’s plenty of other opportunities to suspend him. Better sign with Tampa Bay soon and get back under the GOAT’s cloak.
Since you’re accusing Ms Taylor of falsifying her accusations and shaking down an athlete, perhaps you’d like to share your evidence?
The texts have all been leaked. It’s not particularly hard to find them if you want to come up with a conclusion.
I don’t personally have a commitment to any conclusion myself, but neither person in this case seems to have acted in a particularly clean way.
Way off-topic I know, but good picture on the article list of Tyler Johnson with Brown (18 and 81). Just wanted to acknowledge that.
my boys highschool teacher on graduation day, ‘you, boys, go out there and use two heads wisely. the big one and the small one!’
I suppose now that the legal suit is settled, AB can replace Aaron Rodgers as a Jeopardy guest host.