Antonio Brown accused of sexual assault and rape in new lawsuit

New England Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown has been accused of three counts of sexual assault in a lawsuit filed in Florida on Tuesday.

Content warning: This piece contains descriptions of Brown’s alleged actions and could be triggering to some readers.

On Tuesday, a lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Florida accused Antonio Brown of three counts of sexual assault. The accuser is a woman named Britney Taylor, who went to college with Brown at Central Michigan and later became his trainer.

Taylor alleges that two incidents took place in June 2017 and one in May 2018. First, he kissed her without permission and exposed himself to her. Later that month, while watching television, Taylor alleges that Brown masturbated behind her and ejaculated on her back. Included in the lawsuit are a series of text messages which show Brown bragging about this incident.

After these two incidents, Taylor ended her working relationship with Brown. But several months later, he contacted her to apologize and she relented. But in May 2018, Taylor says that Brown forced her onto a bed, pushed her face into the mattress and raped her. The lawsuit claims that Taylor screamed “stop” and “no,” but Brown refused and penetrated her.

Taylor has said that she will cooperate with the NFL in an investigation. It is not clear if Taylor reported her accusations to the police.

Responding to the lawsuit, Brown’s lawyer released a statement saying that he “denies each and every allegation.” He goes on to detail a very different relationship with Taylor. According to Brown’s lawyer, Taylor approached him in 2017, shortly after he signed a new contract making him the highest paid player in the NFL. Brown was asked to invest $1.6 million in Taylor’s business project. But when Brown learned that this wasn’t a legitimate business project, he refused to invest and Taylor cut off contact with him.

In 2018, Taylor resurfaced and offered to train Brown. The two engaged in a consensual sexual relationship, according to Brown’s attorney. The statement claims that the alleged incident in May 2018 was consensual and that Taylor has continued to benefit from Brown’s celebrity status since then.

The lawsuit was filed in South Florida, where Brown resides. The NFL has not commented on the filing.