In October of 2020, following an eight-game suspension, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed talented but troubled wide receiver Antonio Brown to a one-year contract.
At the time of the signing, Buccaneers Head Coach Bruce Arians communicated a zero-tolerance policy for a player with mounting legal issues. According to Arians, Brown was a model citizen…until recently.
Brown’s latest lapse in judgement was misrepresenting his vaccination status by obtaining a fake vaccination card. An act that is not only a violation of NFL rules but is also a federal crime.
Brown was suspended for three games.
At the time of the suspension, the Buccaneers were in the middle of a four-game winning streak averaging over 30 points per game. Tom Brady had all his weapons and there were reports that Brown would be cut.
Not so fast.
The Buccaneers winning streak was snapped Sunday in a shutout loss to the Saints at home. Starting wide receiver Chris Godwin tore his ACL. Fellow starting wide receiver Mike Evans suffered a hamstring injury. Another contributing receiver is on the COVID-19 list.
Naturally, Brown is back with a Buccaneers team suddenly in trouble, and Arians is being painted as a hypocrite.
A 69-year-old cancer survivor and one of the most respected Head Coaches in the NFL, Arians is allowing his judgement to be swayed by his quest to win a championship.
