On Saturday, October 19, 2024, controversial former Pittsburgh Steelers player Antonio Brown endorsed Donald Trump for the 2024 presidency at a Pennsylvania rally. Brown’s endorsement has spiked interest in his checkered past, which involves multiple arrests and allegations of s*xual assault that spurred his exit from the Steelers in 2019.
Antonio Brown was first arrested in 2020 following a fight with a moving truck driver outside his South Florida home. Brown was charged with burglary with battery, burglary of an unoccupied conveyance, and criminal mischief (via New York Post).
At the time, the moving truck driver called the police and alleged the NFL star and his trainer attacked him and refused to pay $4,000 to release his household goods. The driver alleged Brown and the trainer pulled him out of the vehicle before the trainer, and others removed boxes from the truck, despite his protests that the boxes belonged to another client.
Brown reportedly fled the scene when police arrived but turned himself in two days later. He was sentenced to two years probation, ordered to attend an anger management course, and perform 100 hours of community service. He was also ordered to stay away from the truck driver and the moving company owner.
Antonio Brown was suspended from NFL over the incident for the first eight games of 2020.
Antonio Brown was fired from the NFL over a string of controversies
In 2020, Antonio Brown was suspended from the NFL due to a string of controversies. In 2019, Brown was accused of sending intimidating texts to a woman after she rebuked unwanted advances toward her. The woman alleged the incident occurred in 2017 when he hired her to paint a mural of him in his home.
The woman alleged that Brown sent the texts after she rejected his advances. Through a lawyer, she sent a letter to the NFL with screenshots of the alleged texts and asked them to intervene.
Shortly after, a woman accused Brown of r*pe. A former gymnast, Taylor, who knew Brown from Central Michigan University in 2010, alleged the athlete s*xually assaulted her in 2017 before r*ping her in 2018. Brown denied the accusation.
In 2021, Brown settled the lawsuit, but the terms of the agreement were not disclosed. At the time, Taylor's attorney, David Haas, said in a statement:
"Having reflected on their relationship, both feel that the time has come to move on. Antonio is grateful for Britney's excellent training assistance. They are pleased that Antonio is doing so well with the Bucs and has a ring. Their dispute is resolved and they wish each other great continued success," according to ESPN.
Following a string of controversies, Brown, who was traded to the Raiders in 2019, was out of the NFL for most games. Brown joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021 but was let go after he threw his equipment into the crowd during a New York Jets game.
Brown alleged his erratic behavior stemmed from CTE chronic traumatic encephalopathy.