The alleged victim in the second-degree attempted murder case of Antonio Brown says he “does not wish to participate” in the former NFL wide receiver’s prosecution. The lawyer for Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu says he has also forgiven Brown, citing his Muslim beliefs.
“After considerable reflection, prayer, and consultation with his family and counsel, Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu has made the deeply personal decision to forgive Antonio Brown for the events that occurred in Miami in May 2025,” Cooper said in a statement, according to The Athletic.
“For Mr. Nantambu, forgiveness does not diminish the seriousness of what occurred. It means refusing to allow anger or resentment to dictate how he moves forward.”
Antonio Brown allegedly got into a fight with Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu outside an amateur celebrity boxing match in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood and then fired two rounds at him. Nantambu told detectives that one of the bullets just grazed his neck.
Both parties agreed that Brown discharged a gun during the altercation. Although authorities did not take Brown into custody right away, they soon filed an arrest warrant.
Antonio Brown spent over six months in the Middle East right after the shooting
Brown fled to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he stayed for over six months before U.S. marshals extradited him. While there, Brown made several social media posts. Several involved him proclaiming his innocence and claiming he is a victim of racial profiling, among other things. U.S. Marshals working with the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office used Brown’s social media posts from Dubai to monitor his whereabouts while he was out of the country.
He entered a not guilty plea, claiming self-defense, and was arraigned in November. If found guilty, Brown may spend up to 30 years in jail, with a minimum of 20 years required under Florida law.
Mark Eiglarsh, Brown’s lawyer, has filed a “stand your ground” motion to dismiss the case, arguing that, given the circumstances that evening and the men’s history, Brown had a legitimate right to protect himself because he “reasonably feared death or great bodily harm.”
The motion also claims Antonio Brown only fired two “warning shots, intentionally aiming away from Nantambu to ensure he would not be struck.”
“Antonio would like to make his own position equally clear: He forgives Mr. Nantambu,” Eiglarsh told ESPN. “Antonio wishes Mr. Nantambu and his family peace and holds no hatred or resentment toward him.
“From the very beginning, Mr. Brown has maintained his innocence. He did not commit attempted second-degree murder, and he maintains that, under the circumstances presented that day, he had a lawful right to defend himself.”