Antonio Brown Sued By Woman Claiming He Raped, Sexually Assaulted Her
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- Star NFL receiver Antonio Brown, who just left a controversial and short-lived tenure with the Oakland Raiders, is being sued by a woman who claims he raped and sexually assaulted her.
Britney Taylor, the woman behind the lawsuit, claims Brown sexually assaulted her on three separate occasions, with the first incident allegedly occurring in June 2017.
The lawsuit is being filed in federal court in Florida and KPIX 5 received a copy of the court documents. In the lawsuit, Taylor says she met Brown during her freshman year at Central Michigan University in 2010; she says they were both members of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Group, where she was paired with Brown as his bible study partner.
Taylor says she was hired by Brown as a personal trainer. Brown reached out to Taylor, who was a trainer specializing in gymnastics, to help improve "his flexibility and strength in his ankles and fast twitch muscles," according to the lawsuit.
Taylor alleges that Brown exposed himself to her and began kissing her without her consent during the first training session.
READ THE FULL COMPLAINT AGAINST BROWN
The lawsuit alleges that during a subsequent encounter, Brown began masturbating behind Taylor as they were watching a church service on an iPad together in Brown's Miami home.
Taylor claims Brown "bragged" about the incidents through text messages, calling her multiple profanities, according to the lawsuit, which uses screenshots of messages to support the claims.
In March of 2018, Brown asked Taylor to train him again, apologizing for the prior incidents. Taylor agreed on certain conditions, including that he stop flirting with her and that they don't train at his home, according to the lawsuit.
The suit then details a night in which Brown allegedly raped Taylor at his home after a night clubbing in Miami in April 2018.
In a statement released Tuesday evening, Brown's attorney Darren Heitner said, "Mr. Brown denies each and every allegation in the lawsuit. He will pursue all legal remedies to not only clear his name, but to also protect other professional athletes against false accusations."
Heitner called the allegations a "money grab," claiming Brown and Taylor had a "consensual personal relationship."
"Any sexual interaction was entirely consensual," Heitner said.
The New England Patriots, Brown's current NFL team, also released a statement regarding the lawsuit Tuesday evening:
"We are aware of the civil suit that was filed earlier today against Antonio Brown, as well as the response by Antonio's representatives. We take these allegations very seriously. Under no circumstances does this organization condone sexual violence or assault. The league has informed us that they will be investigating. We will have no further comment while that investigation takes place."
KPIX 5 Sports Director Dennis O'Donnell says the NFL will launch its own private investigation.
"The NFL takes these allegations very seriously. They have a personal conduct policy. Antonio Brown doesn't have to be charged or convicted of a crime but could still face punishment by the NFL," he said.
