Civil lawsuit accuses Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown of sexual assault and rape: Brown allegedly sent harassing texts to misdemeanor victim

Update 09/20/19: Antonio Brown allegedly sent harassing texts to misdemeanor victim

According to Sports Illustrated’s Robert Klemko, Antonio Brown sent a series of text messages to one of his alleged misdemeanor victims first mentioned in a Sports Illustrated article from earlier this week. The lawyer of the woman accusing Brown of not compensating her for a painting she made of him and of indecent behavior, sent a letter to the NFL pointing out the 31-year-old’s texts as “intimidating and threatening to our client, in violation of the NFL Personal Conduct Policy.”

Our client ... is understandably frightened by these text messages, which are clearly intended to threaten and intimidate her. While she certainly qualifies as a ‘starving artist,’ she has never approached Mr. Brown, nor will she, about seeking money to compensate her for his sexual misconduct, contrary to his allegations in the text messages.

Per Klemko’s report, the league quickly reacted and set up a phone call with its investigators and lawyers from the artist.

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Update 09/16/19: Antonio Brown’s lawyer denies allegations revealed in Sports Illustrated article

After Sports Illustrated released an article about Antonio Brown, revealing another accusation of sexual misconduct, his lawyer took to Twitter to share a statement on behalf of his client:

Antonio Brown has reviewed the sexual misconduct allegations made by an unnamed artist included in a recently published Sports Illustrated article and denies that he ever engaged in such activities. There will be no further comment at this time.

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Update 09/16/19: New allegations against Antonio Brown emerge as part of a Sports Illustrated article

New allegations of misconduct have been brought forward in a recently posted article by Sports Illustarted’s Robert Klemko. According to the story, accusations against the wide receiver “range from a previously untold account of sexual misconduct, a charity auction theft, multiple domestic incidents, and a long list of unpaid debts.” The story accuses Brown of repeatedly mistreating and not properly compensating assistants.

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Update 09/15/19: Antonio Brown accuser expected to meet NFL on Monday

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Britney Taylor will meet with the NFL on Monday to share her side of her civil lawsuit against Antonio Brown.

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Update 09/11/19: Allegheny County district attorney clarifies report about ‘looking into’ Antonio Brown

The Allegheny County district attorney’s office has released a statement that it is not investigating the sexual assault and rape allegations made against Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown. The statement reads as follows:

The incident that District Attorney Zappala referenced earlier today involving Northern Regional Police Department contacting our office concerning Antonio Brown did not involve the incident mentioned in the federal lawsuit that has been filed. That contact instead involved a conversation that our office had with Northern Regional Police Department concerning a possible child endangerment situation involving Mr. Brown. The result of that conversation was a decision that we could not move forward with investigating that claim.

Neither Northern Regional Police Department nor our office was ever contacted about the 2017 event that is contained in the federal lawsuit.

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Update 09/11/19: Allegheny County district attorney will reportedly look into allegations against Antonio Brown

According to a report by KDKA-TV’s Andy Sheehan, the office of Allegheny County district attorney Stephen Zappala will “look into” the allegations against Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown in the wake of a civil lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault and rape being filed.

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Update 09/11/19: Patriots reportedly unaware of allegations against Antonio Brown; agent joins ESPN to defend his client

Drew Rosenhaus, Antonio Brown’s agent, joined ESPN’s SportsCenter on Wednesday morning to talk about the allegations against his client and to publicly defend him. According to him, both he and Brown had been “anticipating” the possibility of a civil lawsuit being filed against the 31-year-old. However, Rosenhaus made sure to point out that everybody should “allow the situation to play out.”

“In time, Antonio will be cleared. These allegations in the lawsuit are false. They are not true. They are absolutely untrue,” said Rosenhaus. “In no way do we condone any type of illegal conduct or misbehavior. None of that happened here. This is a money grab. I’ll repeat that: This is a money grab.”

Meanwhile, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that neither the Patriots nor the NFL were aware of Brown facing a potential lawsuit before he signed a two-year free agency contract with the team on Monday.

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Update 09/11/19: NFL considers putting Antonio Brown on Commissioner’s Exempt list

According to Mark Maske of the Washington Post, the NFL will give “serious consideration” to placing Antonio Brown on the Commissioner’s Exempt list for conduct detrimental to the league. While on the list, Brown would not be eligible to practice or play for the Patriots, but would still receive pay and be allowed to attend meetings, workouts and rehabilitation at the team’s facilities. Think of it as a “suspension light.”

League commissioner Roger Goodell has full authority over who to place on the list.

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Original story 09/10/19: Civil lawsuit accuses Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown of sexual assault and rape

New England Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown has been accused of sexually assaulting and raping his former trainer, Britney Taylor, according to a lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Florida on Tuesday.

In the lawsuit, Taylor, whom Brown met while attending Central Michigan, alleges the recent Patriots acquisition sexually assaulted her in three separate incidents between June 2017 and May 2018.

Those allegations were denied in a statement from Brown’s lawyer, Darren Heitner, Tuesday night.

Heitner followed up by stating that the 31-year-old Brown, whose signing with New England was made official on Monday, intends to adamantly exercise “all of his rights in countersuits.”

Sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that the Patriots organization was unaware of the allegations facing Brown when the former Pittsburgh Steeler and Oakland Raider agreed to terms on a one-year, $15 million contract that carries a $9 million signing bonus and a 2020 option earlier this week.

A seven-time Pro Bowler and five-time All-Pro, Brown had been scheduled to participate in his first practice with New England on Wednesday.

“We are aware of the civil lawsuit that was filed earlier today against Antonio Brown, as well as the response by Antonio’s representatives,” the Patriots followed in a statement. “We take these allegations very seriously. Under no circumstance 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.”