By Dr. Valerie Wardlaw – Without timeouts remaining at the end of the fourth quarter, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the New York Jets 28-24. Prior to the comeback win, the Bucs would have drama of its own with wide receiver Antonio Brown leaving the game in dramatic fashion during the third quarter while the Bucs were trailing 24-10. Brown’s game exit would culminate in his official release from the team.
Late in the third quarter, fans would witness Brown in an animated conversation with teammates Mike Evans and O. J. Simpson that ended with Brown stripping off his jersey and pads, and then removing his t-shirt and gloves, throwing both into the stands and exiting through the MetLife stadium tunnel while play continued. Game commentators were left to speculate about the cause of Brown’s confusing exit. During post-game interviews, Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians revealed that he asked Brown to enter the game twice and he refused. At the point, Arians said he told Brown to “get out.”
Prior to Brown’s sideline antics, the New York Jets appeared on target to defeat the defending Super Bowl champs leading the Bucs 24-10 late in the third quarter. But in true Brady fashion, the Bucs quarterback connected with tight end Cameron Brate for a four-yard touchdown and a 33-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Cyril Grayson with 15 seconds left in the game capping a 93-yard drive with no timeouts in the final two minutes. Brady finished 34-of-50, 410 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
When asked about the details of Brown’s exit, Arian said, “He is no longer a Buc. That’s the end of the story. Let’s talk about the guys that went out there and won the game.” In response to questions about Brown removing his jersey and pads on the sideline, Arians said, “Never seen anything like that in all my years.”
According to ESPN news, Brown did not fly home on the team charter and MetLife security stated that Brown asked for a ride to the airport and was told “no.” Stadium security would also tell ESPN news, “Brown did secure an alternate ride and left the stadium after changing clothes.” Brown finished the day with three catches for 26 yards.
It was just one week ago that Brown returned to the team after a three-game suspension for violating NFL-NFPA COVID-19 protocols. Brown was found to have misrepresented his vaccination status providing a fake vaccination card to the NFL “It’s a difficult situation,” Bucs quarterback Tom Brady said. “Everybody should do what they can to help him in ways that he really needs it. We all love him. We care about him deeply. We want to see him be at his best. “Unfortunately, it won’t be with our team… I think everyone should be very compassionate and empathetic toward some very difficult things that are happening.”
Bucs running back Le’Veon Bell, a recent Tampa signee and a former Pittsburgh Steelers teammate of Brown said, “I found out when we got into the locker room at the end of the game. I instantly sent him a text, to try to catch up with him real quick. Obviously, he texted me back and I talked to him. He still one of my close friends. Like you won’t hear me talking bad about AB at all. Obviously, I understand, things happen, but he’s one of my closest friends I’ve been around, a close teammate, overall, a good person. Some bad decision-making at times, but he’s human, not perfect, and we’ll continue to move on without him and keep moving forward. “It’s tough. Obviously when I came over here, I was happy to be reunited with him. Unfortunately, it was only two games, but at the end of the day, I wish the best for him outside of football or whatever’s next for him.”
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