The NFL season got off to a hot start way before the regular season games began. 

Wide receiver Antonio Brown had been making sports headlines for the past 2 months. From having a huge confrontation with a general manager, to being released by a team before the start of the regular season. 

Most recently, according to ESPN, on Tuesday, September 10th, Brown was accused of sexual assault by his former personal trainer, Britney Taylor. Brown was accused of three separate occasions. First occasion: Antonio Brown exposed himself to Taylor, then proceeded to kiss her without her consent. Second occasion: Brown pleasured himself without Britney Taylor’s knowledge, then ejaculated onto her. On the third and final occasion: Taylor was at Brown’s home where she ate and used the bathroom, he then “forced her down onto a bed, pushed her face into the mattress and forcibly raped her” according to ESPN. The lawsuit was filed three days after Brown had announced that he would be signing with the New England Patriots, following his release from the Oakland Raiders. 

On September 7th, Antonio Brown was released from the Oakland Raiders. He had struck the last nerve in the Raiders organization. The Raiders chose to void Brown’s guaranteed $30 million following an altercation with general manager, Mike Mayock. Although he apologized to Mike Mayock and the organization, the next day he posted a video on YouTube of a conversation he had with Raiders head coach Jon Gruden. Which led to his eventual release. 

However, all this was preluded by other events that took place during the off season. 

Most importantly, in early September, Antonio Brown received a letter from the general manager of the Raiders, Mike Mayock, informing him that he was being fined by the team. The fines were of roughly $20,000 for missing mandatory practices. Due to the letter, Brown confronted Mike Mayock and had a shouting match with him, in which he called Mayock a cracker and threatened to hit him in the face. Following the confrontation, the Raiders threatened to void all the guaranteed money that was on Brown’s contract, around $30 million.

Antonio Brown’s week 2 status is still unknown. Although it’s more than likely that he will play in the match up against the Miami Dolphins.