Interesting developments, but Antonio Brown's statement doesn't absolve him. Instead, a murky situation just got murkier. If he was that injured, why didn't the team know the extent of the injury and why was he in uniform? Was he even listed on injury report for last Sunday's game (week 17)? The one link I bothered looking up said yes.
Based on Damien Woody's comments from that ESPN video that Brown claimed he didn't know what the Toradol shot is for when most players know its purpose, you can see the blatantly self-serving nature of Brown's statement. So I don't doubt that he was injured because of the report and playing through injuries, even serious ones, is de rigeur in the NFL. It's the severity and if the injury had anything at all to do with Sunday's blowup that we don't know. Had he not behaved poorly with previous teams and off the field, he'd probably get the benefit of the doubt.
I would have saved myself from typing all that if I just read ESPN'S story about his release.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have terminated the contract of Antonio Brown, effective immediately, the team announced Thursday.
www.google.com
From the team: "While Antonio did receive treatment on his ankle and was listed on the injury report the week leading up to last Sunday's game, he was cleared to play by our medical team prior to the start of the game and at no point during the game did he indicate to our medical personnel that he could not play.
"We have attempted, multiple times throughout this week, to schedule an evaluation by an outside orthopedic specialist, yet Antonio has not complied. Maintaining the health and wellness of our players is of the utmost importance to our organization."