Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown is currently facing two lawsuits stemming from an April incident in Florida in which he is alleged to have destroyed a rented luxury apartment and threw furniture and other household items off a balcony that came close to hitting people on the ground. After those lawsuits surfaced on Wednesday, Brown released a short statement on Thursday in which he claims he’s innocent of the charges against him.
“It has now been made public that two lawsuits containing false claims have been filed against me. The facts will soon come out that prove my innocence. My focus will remain on football and I will not let the cases serve as a distraction,” Brown’s Thursday morning stalemate read.
Brown reportedly has until Thursday to answer a lawsuit filed by Ophir Sternberg, who has claimed his 22-month-old son and the boy’s grandfather were nearly struck by “large objects” that were allegedly thrown by Brown off the balcony of his rented luxury apartment in Florida this past April. While the local police and property security were both called to the scene to investigate the matter, Brown was not charged with any crime. A police report was filed, however.
Brown is also facing a second lawsuit that was filed by his landlord in which he is being sued for at least $15,000 in damages he is alleged to have inflicted to the apartment and its contents. Both incidents reportedly occurred after Brown told police that a gun and $80,000 in cash had been stolen out of that apartment.
On Wednesday, NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the league is monitoring the pair of lawsuits against Brown.
As of right now there is no indication that Brown will face discipline from the NFL and that’s not surprising. However, it is worth noting that once all the facts are in that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell could decide to punish Brown under the league’s personal conduct policy that prohibits “conduct by anyone in the league that is illegal, violent, dangerous, or irresponsible, puts innocent victims at risk, damages the reputation of others in the game, and undercuts public respect and support for the NFL.”
Brown is expected to hold his weekly session with the Pittsburgh media on Friday, so you can probably count on him being asked questions about the two lawsuits he’s now facing.
