Former Raider Antonio Brown Released By Patriots
BOSTON (CBS Boston) — Antonio Brown's Patriots career is over after one game, according to CBS 4 in Boston.
After a controversial day, the Patriots on Friday released the wide receiver from their roster.
"The New England Patriots are releasing Antonio Brown," Patriots spokesperson Stacey James said. "We appreciate the hard work of many people over the past 11 days, but we feel that it is best to move in a different direction at this time."
The news broke Friday, just moments after Brown shared some posts on social media that indicated something was about to take place. He posted a photo of himself and Tom Brady to his Instagram page, saying, "Love ya champ that was fun ! #GoWinIt #DoitforMe"
He also made several posts to his Twitter account.
Brown, 31, signed with the Patriots on Sept. 7, hours after the Raiders released him. That release came after a summer of disruptions with the Raiders, including Brown reportedly threatening Oakland GM Mike Mayock.
A former trainer of Brown filed a civil lawsuit early last week, accusing him of multiple instances of sexual assault and one instance of forcible rape.
Brown was not immediately punished by the NFL, but the league did interview the accuser on Monday of this week. A meeting with Brown was expected to be held in the coming weeks.
More negative attention came early this week, when Sports Illustrated reported on numerous allegations of Brown refusing to play workers in a story that included an allegation of Brown making an unwanted sexual advance toward an artist. That artist later informing Sports Illustrated that Brown sent her intimidating text messages after the story went public, with that story breaking on Friday.
Brown made his Patriots debut on Sunday in Miami, catching four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown. He spent his first nine NFL seasons with the Steelers, where he earned four First Team All-Pro honors and seven Pro Bowl selections.
