New England Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown has been accused of rape and sexual assault by his former trainer, according to the New York Times.
Britney Taylor, a gymnast and former trainer for Brown, both of whom attended Central Michigan, has accused the receiver of rape and sexual assault on three separate occasions between June 2017 and May 2018 in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Southern District of Florida.
According to the New York Times, the lawsuit alleges Brown sexually assaulted Taylor twice in June 2017, including exposing himself and kissing her without permission. The lawsuit also claims Brown sexually assaulted Taylor later that month by masturbating behind her while she was watching television and ejaculating on her back. The New York Times reports Brown “bragged about the incident in profane text messages that are copied on the lawsuit”, which were also obtained by Nick Underhill of The Athletic.
In the third incident claimed in the lawsuit, Taylor claims Brown, on May 20, 2018, “forced her onto a bed, pushed her face into the mattress and ‘forcibly’ raped her. She tried to resist him, screaming and repeatedly shouting ‘no’ and ‘stop,’ the lawsuit says, but Brown refused and penetrated her.”
Taylor put out a statement Tuesday saying,
“‘As a rape victim of Antonio Brown, deciding to speak out has been an incredibly difficult decision,” Taylor said in a statement released by her lawyer. “I have found strength in my faith, my family, and from the accounts of other survivors of sexual assault.”
Taylor also said she will cooperate with the NFL in an investigation.
Brown’s representation in the case, Darren Heitner, provided a statement of their own, stating, “Mr. Brown denies each and every allegation in the lawsuit. He will pursue all legal remedies to not only clear his name, but to also protect other professional athletes against false accusations.”
The statement also says, “Mr. Brown was approached by his accuser in 2017, shortly after Mr. Brown signed a contract making him the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL. At the time, Mr. Brown was asked to invest $1.6 million in the accuser’s business project. Mr. Brown was not informed by his accuser that she had just been levied with a $30,000 IRS tax lien or that $300,000 of the $1.6 million so-called ‘investment’ was to be used to purchase property already owned by the accuser and her mother.”
The statement also goes on to say the accuser cut off communications after Brown refused to make the investment but resurfaced in 2018 and offered to travel to Pennsylvania and South Florida to travel with Brown. “Thereafter, the accuser engaged Mr. Brown in a consensual personal relationship. Any sexual interaction with Mr. Brown was entirely consensual,” according to the statement from Brown and Heitner.
Just before midnight on Tuesday, the Patriots also released a statement of their own.
“We are aware of the civil lawsuit that was filed earlier today against Antonio Brown, as well as the response by Antonio’s representatives. We take these allegations very seriously. Under no circumstance does this organization condone sexual violence or assault. The league has informed us that they will be investigating. We will have no further comment while that investigation takes place.”
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