Brown says Bucs spinning midgame exit: 'I didn't quit. I was cut'

Antonio Brown is accusing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of covering up the true reason for his midgame walkout last Sunday.

In a statement released through his lawyer, Brown said Bruce Arians told him he was "done" after he told the head coach he couldn't re-enter the game against the New York Jets due to an ankle injury.

"I took a seat on the sideline and my coach came up to me, very upset, and shouted, 'What's wrong with you? What's wrong with you?' I told him, 'It's my ankle.' But he knew that. It was well-documented, and we had discussed it. He then ordered me to get on the field. I said 'Coach, I can't.'

"He didn't call for medical attention. Instead, he shouted at me, 'YOU'RE DONE!' while he ran his finger across his throat. Coach was telling me that if I didn't play hurt, then I was done with the Bucs."

He continued: "I didn't quit. I was cut. I didn't walk away from my brothers. I was thrown out."

Brown, who ran off the field midway through the third quarter of Sunday's game after showing frustration on the sideline, said Arians pressured him to play injured. He also said the Bucs' staff injected him with a "powerful and sometimes dangerous painkiller" pregame.

Additionally, Brown accused the team of attempting to "spin" the narrative. He said Arians "clearly acknowledged" his injury through texts days before the contest. The veteran missed two days of practice in the week leading up to Sunday's game.

"First, they cut me. Now, they cage me," Brown wrote. "Instead of asking how I felt or getting to the bottom of it, the team texted my camp promoting a totally false narrative that I randomly acted out without any explanation."

On Thursday morning, Brown posted screenshots of a text exchange with Arians from before Week 17:

The veteran wideout maintains he was cut before he stripped off his uniform and headed for the tunnel.

"They threw me out like an animal, and I refused to wear their brand on my body, so I took my jersey off."

Brown also said Tampa Bay ordered him to see a doctor of their choosing after the incident as part of their "ongoing cover-up." However, Brown said he already scheduled ankle surgery after an MRI on Monday revealed broken bone fragments, a ligament torn from the bone, and cartilage loss.

"I gave the Bucs everything I had on the field," Brown noted. "What the organization is doing now needs to get cleaned up. I do not understand how people publicly claiming to be concerned about my mental health can do these things to me in private.

"Once my surgery is complete, I'll be back to 100% and looking forward to next season."

Tampa officially released Brown on Thursday after Arians said he was no longer a member of the team postgame Sunday.