Star receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Antonio Brown previously walked off the field during the middle of an intense match against the New York Jets. Taking place on Sunday, January 2, 2022, Brown was later publicly removed from the Buccaneers roster shortly after defeating the Jets. Most people are claiming that Brown had been cut after he abruptly ran out of the stadium, but according to the athlete himself, the reason for his unexpected departure was due to head coach Bruce Arians informing him of the news on the sideline.
Just a week prior to this game, Brown suffered an apparent ankle injury in which multiple fragments of his ligaments and cartilage were lost and torn off of the bone. However, the 33-year-old athlete was reportedly told by Arians to continue to participate in the game, after already coming off the field due to intolerable ankle pains. “I walked off the field,” Brown publicly stated. “But there is a major difference between launching from the line and taking hits, compared to jogging off the field with a rush of emotions going through your mind. I am reflecting on my reaction, but there was a trigger. The trigger was someone telling me that I am not allowed to feel pain.”
Brown went into further detail on how the exact situation transpired just seconds before he jogged off out of the stadium. “ He ordered me to go get on the field,” the former Buccaneer said. “I said, ‘Coach, I can’t.’ He did not call for medical attention. Instead, he shouted at me, ‘YOU’RE DONE!’ while he ran his finger across his throat.” He then added, “Coach was telling me that if I didn’t play hurt, then I was done with the Bucs.” While Antonio Brown seems to serve a fair point in this slight altercation, there are always two sides to every story and we cannot know for sure what truly took place on the side of the field.