Since coming to the New England Patriots, Antonio Brown's status with the team has been in limbo. Shortly after he was signed to a one-year deal following his release from the Oakland Raiders, Brown was accused of sexual assault and rape in a civil lawsuit which has led to speculation that he could be placed on the commissioner's exempt list.
Brown played for the Patriots in Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins but in the lead up to Week 3, his accuser met with the NFL regarding her allegations against Brown. And that has led to a lot of uncertainty surrounding him. In addition to that meeting, more accusations against Brown have been levied which has further clouded what his standing in the eyes of the NFL might be.
While Brown is reportedly still eligible to play in Week 3 against the New York Jets, his status will need to be monitored on a week-to-week basis.
In a recent appearance on Boston Sports Tonight, The MMQB's Albert Breer stated that there's "no way of knowing" what could happen next in the Brown saga.
I have no way of knowing. I mean, I'll be honest with you, you track this case close enough and we don't know what's happening next. And I can just tell you guys, you know, generally people sort of start to come out of the woodwork. That's what happened with that lawsuit coming out now. All of a sudden, there's a second woman that was in the story (Sports Illustrated) did over the course of the last month. That could embolden a third person, a fourth person, a fifth person to come forward, so there's no way of really knowing where this is going.
Breer also outlined that Brown could still be placed on the commissioner's exempt list despite the lawsuit being of the civil variety.
I think the mistake that everybody's making is just pointing to this and saying because it's a civil case, he won't end up on the exempt list. That is not true. This is about the credibility of the accusation. Right now, it hasn't risen to the level where they would put him on the exempt list.
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Breer would go on to explain that there is a precedent for a player going on the exempt list despite not dealing with criminal charges. Kareem Hunt was placed on the exempt list in 2018 and suspended for eight games this season after a video of him assaulting a woman was made public. So, if Roger Goodell deems the accusation is credible, he has "the discretion to take (Brown) off the field", as Breer noted.
The situation surrounding Brown will continue to develop over the course of the coming weeks. But there is no more clarity about his status with the Patriots than there was the day that the accusation was made public.
To see everything that Breer had to say about the Brown situation, watch the video above or click here.
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