The Tampa Bay Buccaneers probably knew they were signing a time bomb when they brought Antonio Brown aboard in 2020. It was good fortune that the wide receiver behaved himself most of that season and they were rewarded with a Super Bowl title. However, then the organization pushed its luck by bringing him back in 2021. A decision they are undoubtedly regretting more and more by the day.
Things got off to a great start when Brown got slapped with a suspension by the NFL for faking a COVID-19 vaccination card. If only that were the worst of it. Upon returning, things went off the rails when during a game in New York against the Jets, Brown suddenly stripped off his uniform and waved goodbye to the crowd in the middle of the end zone before heading to the locker room. This while the Buccaneers were in the middle of an offensive drive. Brown contended this was over his hesitance to play due to a lingering ankle injury. Bucs head coach Bruce Arians countered it was because the receiver wasn’t getting enough targets.
Given Brown’s history, the latter sounds far more likely.
A few days later, the team cut the wide receiver. So that was finally the end of it, right? They wish. Around that same time, details emerged that before the Jets game Brown had snuck a famous Instagram model into the team hotel to make a sex tape. The 23-year old woman is named Ava Louise and she earned fame back in 2020 when she started the Coronavirus Challenge by licking an airplane toilet.
According to the Daily Mail, Brown contacted her on New Year’s Day with an offer to meet up with him in New York. Even offering financial compensation. That is where the story gets so, so much better.
“On New Year’s Day, Louise said she was preparing for a night out with friends when Brown began messaging her, sending her a string of voice messages – including one in which he offered her ‘a bonus’ if she would come over and ‘hang out’ with him.
Louise told DailyMail.com that she was initially uncertain but decided to go to the Westin ‘to find out what’s going on’ and said she was concerned by his mumbling.
She said: ‘He was mumbling [in the messages] and not making sense. Honestly, I thought he was drunk.
‘He kept saying I have money for you, I have a bonus for you and I was like, what are you saying? I just thought that was weird.
‘I thought, ok, I’ll just go see what this is about because it’s Antonio Brown, it’s the day before the Jets game, I’ll go.’
When she arrived at 11:15pm, she was forced to sneak past security due to NFL Covid rules which state teams must live in a virus-secure ‘bubble’ and cannot see guests.
Louise told how she snuck into the elevator behind other guests and hit the button for the sixth floor where Brown met her and pulled her into his room – 611.
Inside, she says the 33-year-old began ranting about ‘bulls**t Covid rules’ and repeatedly told her, ‘f*** the NFL’.
She says he then went on to tell her he is ‘insane’ before adding: ‘You don’t even know my crazy right now. You don’t know my crazy right now.’
Despite her concern over his mumbling, the pair went on to have sex – which Brown insisted on filming for her Only Fans account.”
Got all that?
Initially, Louise didn’t plan to go public with this information but after what happened in the Jets game and the concern she had for Brown’s mental condition, she felt compelled to tell all. Some aren’t buying that though. They think it is nothing more than a play for attention. As evidenced by the fact she posted a photo on Instagram of a positive COVID-19 test, insisting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers test their team.
Ava Louise, the woman claiming Antonio Brown smuggled her into the team hotel, posted this on IG. Ironically, she started an internet challenge by licking an airplane toilet seat in 2020 calling it the “Coronavirus Challenge.” She posts, “Buccaneers, test your team!” pic.twitter.com/Tos3k5CrhC
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) January 6, 2022
Tampa Bay Buccaneers are happy and sad it’s over
They’re happy that the Brown situation can finally end. At the same time, they also know his exit is going to hurt their team. The Buccaneers already lost top receiver Chris Godwin to a torn ACL earlier this season. Scotty Miller, one of Tom Brady’s favorite targets, has battled turf toe all season. It was hoped Brown would pick up the slack. Instead, he continued to perfect his art at burning bridges.
The timing is especially brutal with the team trying to repeat as champions. It isn’t like they were falling out of the playoff chase. They are one of the top seeds in the NFC. Brady is still Brady. Had Brown just stayed patient, the targets would’ve come his way. Yet what Louise said might be true. His mental state is unstable and it’s fair to wonder how much worse it could get without help.
