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- Antonio Brown has repeatedly claimed that Tampa Bay made him play through an injury.
- He doubled (or tripled or quadrupled) down on his claims on Monday and provided a first look at the injury through the lens of a doctor.
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Ever since Antonio Brown’s bizarre meltdown against the Jets on January 2nd, he has made quite a few claims about what happened. The most prominent declaration that the former Tampa Bay wide receiver made is that the team tried to make him play through an injury.
On Monday morning, Brown posted real evidence of his ankle injury for the first time.
In a since-deleted Instagram story, he shared a photo of an MRI that he underwent for his ankle. He also claimed, once again, that the team “tried to hurt him intentionally.”
It is worth noting that the date of the MRI goes back to earlier in the season. It shows his injured ankle that he was notably and publicly rehabbing throughout the year— the same one that he claims was not fully healthy when he took the field against the Jets.
Brown also claimed that Tom Brady was in on the plan and promised him him targets if he was to suit up. However, he says that despite playing through his injury, Brady lied to him and did not throw him the ball.
Antonio Brown released this image of his foot/ankle injury on his IG account with usual claims that #Bucs made him play hurt, Tom Brady didn’t throw him the football and Bruce Arians fired him for being hurt. pic.twitter.com/tLOTOshcfm
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) February 21, 2022
Along with the still image, Brown posted a video from his meeting with a doctor about his ankle. In the video, the doctor explains that he has a “small little bone spur” that causes pain when he brings his foot up and pinches the spur.
The doctor also explains that he has “bone marrow edema” which means that the bone has been seeing contact. Bone marrow edema is a term that is given to the excessive accumulation of an abnormal fluid seen within the bone marrow on an MRI.
https://twitter.com/2cooI2blog/status/1495815097381437443?s=20&t=6pf1MvqFir6HM17j2Ff6JA
For Brown to post video that shows an actual injury is significant.
Since the 33-year-old’s mid-game departure from the team, he has remained adamant that the Buccaneers were forcing him to play on an injured ankle. Along with his attorney, Brown has made multiple accusations against Tampa Bay and has claimed multiple forms of mistreatment.
Brown’s Instagram story does not prove either side of the story as truth, but it certainly furthers the narrative about his injury being legitimate. Why he went on to delete the stories is unclear, especially considering that once something is posted on the internet, it is out there for the entire world to see, but it is easy to imagine that his legal team asked him not to share anything of such significance.
The plot thickens and continues…