After Antonio Brown tossed his equipment and left the stadium shirtless in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' win over the New York Jets, head coach Bruce Arians informed reporters that the veteran wide receiver is no longer with the team, ESPN reports.
"He is no longer a Buc," Arians said after the game. "That's the end of the story. Let's talk about the guys who went out there and won the game."
Late in the third quarter, Brown abruptly took off his gear, threw his gloves and shirt into the stands, and ran off the field. Teammates Mike Evans and O.J. Howard tried to calm Brown on the sidelines before he made his exit.
While in the endzone, he did some jumping jacks and waved to the New York crowd before running into the tunnel.
Jay Glazer of FOX NFL on Sunday tweeted that Brown refused to go back in the game when Arians asked him.
“Just talked to Bruce Arians who said he was trying to get AB to go into the game & AB refused,” the tweet read. “Tried again Brown refused & Arians told him to get out. If he saw AB take his jersey off.”
“Yeah, I did. Never seen anything like it in all my years.” @NFLonFOX
Rick Stroud, who covers the Bucs, tweeted that quarterback Tom Brady called for everyone to have compassion toward Brown during this time.
After the game, Brown was captured smiling in the back of N.J. driver Danny Chalet’s car, a chauffeur to several NFL stars, who shared it on his Instagram story.
As EBONY previously reported, Brown was playing in his second game back after being suspended for violating the NFL's COVID-19 protocols after he was charged with procuring a fake vaccine card.
Brown was signed by the Bucs in 2020 after being suspended for eight games by the NFL following multiple allegations of sexual misconduct and a no-contest plea on a felony burglary charge. At the time of Brown’s signing, Arians said, "He screws up one time, he’s gone."
Brown’s antics will cost him almost $1 million incentives.
