Along with a Super Bowl win with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown has another reason to celebrate. The NFL wide receiver has settled a civil lawsuit from his former trainer Britney Taylor, who accused the star athlete of sexually assaulting her. Taylor filed the lawsuit in 2019, and lawyers for her and Brown released a joint statement to the Associated Press on Wednesday, April 21, revealing the agreement.
“Antonio and Britney have been friends for over a decade. Several years ago they almost became business partners. Recently, they were involved in aggressive litigation. 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,” the statement read.
Taylor’s lawsuit claimed Brown sexually assaulted her on three different occasions in 2017 and 2018. Brown countersued Taylor, claiming defamation and interference with his NFL contracts and endorsements. ESPN reports that a settlement was reached, but per the agreement, no terms can be disclosed.
Brown, currently a free agent after winning the Super Bowl with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in February, remains subject to discipline under the NFL’s personal conduct policy. In the past he’s been suspended several times for violating the league’s behavioral codes.
Brown joined with Tampa Bay last season just before their Week 9 game against the New Orleans Saints. The 32-year-old athlete led the Bucs in receiving over the final five weeks of the regular season. The once-troubled football player also caught a touchdown pass from Tom Brady in the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl LV victory over the Kansas City Chiefs. Buccaneer’s general manager Jason Licht told ESPN that the team will continue to discuss a possible return for Brown.
“We’ve had discussions throughout the offseason and you can tell we’ve put an emphasis on bringing back our players from last year that contributed to our success, and he’d be no different, so we’ll continue to have talks and see where it goes,” Licht told the sports news outlet.
Licht also added that the Buccaneers signed Brown last year when his dispute with Taylor was ongoing so the resolution “wasn’t necessarily the deciding factor of whether or not we’re gonna continue to talk.”
