A Los Angeles chef has gone to the press to accuse a former NFL client of paying for a fake vaccine card.
Chef Steven Ruiz provided a screenshot of July 2 text messages between Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown‘s girlfriend Cydney Moreau and himself to the Tampa Bay Times.
“Can you get the covid cards?” Moreau’s message read in the screenshot.
“I can try,” Ruiz responded.
“[Johnson and Johnson] shot,” Moreau responded. “Ab said he will give you $500.”
“Ab” is Antonio Brown’s nickname. Ruiz told the outlet Brown wanted the fake vaccination card to avoid NFL protocols.
Ruiz said Brown owes him $10,000. He decided to speak publicly after not being able to reach a settlement with Brown’s lawyer. In 2019, Sports Illustrated reported Brown faced half a dozen lawsuits for “refusal to pay former assistants and part-time employees.”
Brown’s former chef said he was unable to find a fake vaccination card for the wide receiver, who was worried about the effects the vaccination would have on his body. A few weeks later, Ruiz said Brown showed him fake vaccination cards he bought for himself and Moreau.
Sean Burstyn, Brown’s lawyer, told the local outlet his client was vaccinated.
“Antonio Brown appreciates the severity of the pandemic, which is why he got the vaccine and supports everyone for whom it is advisable to get the vaccine,” Burstyn reportedly texted. “Coronavirus has hit close to home as it took him out of a game. He is healthy, vaccinated, and ready to win another Super Bowl.”
Brown missed the Sept. 26 game against the Los Angeles Rams due to testing positive for COVID-19.
On Nov. 9, the NFL fined the Green Bay Packers $300,000 for not enforcing league protocol rules on the players. Unvaccinated Packers Aaron Rodgers and Allen Lazard were fined $14,650.
