The Tampa Bay Buccaneers claim they were aware of Antonio Brown’s latest troubling off-field incident before they signed him last month, but apparently the same was not true for the NFL.
NFL vice president of communications Brian McCarthy said Tuesday that the league is reviewing the Oct. 15 incident in which Brown allegedly destroyed a security camera at his gated community in Hollywood, Fla. According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the NFL was unaware of the incident before Brown was reinstated from his eight-game suspension.
Brown was accused of angrily destroying a surveillance camera and throwing his bicycle at a security hut roughly two weeks before he signed with the Bucs. Police felt they had enough to charge Brown with misdemeanor criminal mischief, but the homeowner’s association said Brown agreed to replace the camera so they did not want to press charges.
The Bucs issued a statement on Monday saying they were aware of the incident before signing Brown.
Pelissero also noted that the NFL is still monitoring a civil case in Florida in which Brown was accused of rape. A hearing is set for Jan. 11 in that case, and Brown could face further discipline if new information arises. That case stems from one of two instances where Brown was accused of sexual misconduct.
Brown has been at the center of numerous embarrassing off-field incidents. Despite all of that, Tom Brady has maintained a close relationship with the star receiver and pushed for Tampa Bay to sign him. If it doesn’t work out, Brady will be at least partially responsible.
