Lawyer for Antonio Brown say he denies allegations of sexual assault and rape
New England Patriots say the team takes allegations against Antonio Brown seriously and the NFL plans an investigation; Molly Line reports from Boston.
New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick spent fewer than five minutes talking to reporters Wednesday after he was peppered about allegations his newest receiver, Antonio Brown, sexually assaulted and raped his personal trainer on three separate occasions in 2017 and 2018.
Belichick started out the press conference with a statement about preparing for the team’s Week 2 matchup against the Miami Dolphins. He then offered a comment about Brown.
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“On Antonio’s situation, both Antonio and his representatives made statements so I’m not going to be expanding on any of those," he said. "They are what they are. We’ve looked into the situation. We’re taking it very seriously – all the way through the organization. I’m sure there’s questions but I’m not going to be entering a discussion about that today.”
Once the floor opened up to questions from the media, Belichick broke out the footwork and avoided giving direct answers about Brown. Belichick said he wasn’t going to expand on any statements when he was asked about whether he was aware of the lawsuit when the team signed Brown.
He was asked whether he thinks fans deserve to hear more from him about Brown.
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“When we know more, we’ll say more,” he shot back twice.
When he was asked about whether the allegations against Brown would weigh against whether or not he would play Sunday against the Dolphins, Belichick responded: “I appreciate all the questions and what’s been said has been said.”
Belichick was asked how much of a distraction the Brown lawsuit was, since it was early in the season.
“Yeah, we’re working on Miami. We’re working on Miami. The rest of it is … we’re working on Miami.”
Irritated with the Brown questions, Belichick ended the press conference after about four minutes.
He did give one bit of news: He expected Brown to practice Wednesday.
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Brown is facing a civil lawsuit from a former personal trainer who accused him of sexually assaulting her in June 2017 and May 2018. It wasn't immediately clear if Britney Taylor, who has publicly identified herself as Brown's accuser, had reported any of the allegations to police or if any criminal investigation has taken place or will occur.