Inside the Antonio Brown Lawsuit—Claims of Abuse, Bizarre and Chaotic Life

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

GoLocalWorcester News Team

Brown PHOTO: Keith Allison Flickr

On Tuesday night, news broke that a former trainer of Patriots new wide receiver Antonio Brown is alleging that he sexually assaulted her. The federal lawsuit was filed in Florida.

“In June 2017, Brown sexually assaulted Ms. Taylor twice while they were together for training sessions. First, Brown exposed himself and kissed Ms. Taylor without her consent. Later that month, Brown, while positioned behind Ms. Taylor, began masturbating near her without her knowledge and ejaculated on her back. Ms. Taylor realized what occurred when she felt a wet spot soak through her clothing. Later, in astonishingly profane and angry text messages, Brown bragged about the incident to her,” states the lawsuit.

The suit goes on, “Shocked and deeply embarrassed by this assault and his degrading messages, Ms. Taylor cut off her working relationship with Brown. However, several months later, Brown reached out to Ms. Taylor, expressing contrition, begging forgiveness and pleading with her to train him again. Ms. Taylor was hesitant but eventually agreed, swayed by his assurance that he would cease any sexual advances.”

The suit states, “Brown’s assurances proved false. On May 20, 2018, Brown cornered Ms. Taylor, forced her down onto a bed, pushed her face into the mattress, and forcibly raped her. Ms. Taylor tried to resist him, but Brown was too strong and physically overpowered her. She screamed and cried throughout the entire rape, repeatedly shouting “no” and “stop.” Brown refused and penetrated her.”

The allegations against Brown are just the latest in a superstar career that has turned into a personal tragedy.

Friends in College

According to the lawsuit, the victim is a highly accomplished athlete is her own right.

“Britney Taylor is a 28-year-old, world-class gymnast, who was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. She comes from a highly religious and close-knit family.

Ms. Taylor started gymnastics when she was only three years old and soon became recognized as an athlete with exceptional abilities, discipline and dedication. In high school, she trained twice a day for a total of 40 hours per week, in addition to her course work. She reached “Elite” level, meaning she was eligible to compete for international competitions like the Olympics,” according to the lawsuit.

“She received 14 full college scholarship offers from schools with some of the best athletic programs in the country. This year, she will be inducted into the inaugural Tennessee Gymnastics Hall of Fame. She succeeded in the sport even though she often worked with unsupportive and verbally abusive coaches and was almost always the lone African-American gymnast on her team and at meets,” states the lawsuit.

The two met at Central Michigan University in 2010 when they were both undergraduates, “She was paired with Antonio Brown as his bible study partner.”

After college and his entrance into the NFL, the two reconnected when Brown contacted her on social media.

“A year later, Brown went to play in the NFL, becoming one of the most successful wide receivers in the league. Ms. Taylor transferred to Louisiana State University (“LSU”), but they remained in touch. In approximately 2013, Ms. Taylor’s senior year at LSU, Brown sent her a message on social media, asking for a picture of her. Ms. Taylor sent him a picture of her face. Dissatisfied, Brown asked for a more revealing one. Ms. Taylor refused, reminding Brown that they were just friends,” said the suit.

The two then lost contact and she went onto pursue her dream to be a trainer after her graduation.

“For approximately four years after Ms. Taylor graduated from LSU, the two fell out of touch. During that time, Ms. Taylor pursued her lifelong dream of opening a gymnastics training center for predominantly African-American girls in her hometown of Memphis. She wanted to create a safe and supportive environment for young girls of color to thrive in the sport of gymnastics – something that was often missing for her when she was a young girl,” said the lawsuit.

“Ms. Taylor opened her training center in 2016. Her business grew quickly because of her knowledge of gymnastics and her devotion to her students. She even covered the cost of tuition for several students whose families were unable to afford it. After less than a year, she was training approximately 50 students and had another 200 students on her waiting list,” states the lawsuit.

Reconnection

As she was developing her career and business, Brown was becoming a superstar in the NFL. He was an All-Pro top receiver.

“In June 2017, Brown reached out to Ms. Taylor via Facebook asking her how she was doing. Ms. Taylor responded that she was doing well and enthusiastically described the development of and plans for her gym,” states the lawsuit.

“During the course of this renewed contact, Brown indicated he wanted Ms. Taylor’s help improving flexibility and strength in his ankles and fast twitch muscles – areas in which she had developed expertise through gymnastics. As a result, the two agreed that Ms. Taylor would provide physical training services to Brown. The arrangement between them included Ms. Taylor flying to locations in Pittsburgh and Florida where Brown had homes and where he trained. Ms. Taylor never dated or had an interest in any romantic relationship with Brown. Their relationship, as far as Ms. Taylor believed and behaved, was that of a ‘brother-sister’ type,” states the lawsuit.

Taylor Says Brown Exposed Himself

But when Taylor came to Pittsburgh to help train Brown, the Pittsburgh star began the sexual harassment, according to the lawsuit, “During a training trip in early June 2017, Ms. Taylor was in one of Brown’s homes in the Pittsburgh area, where she was staying because he had not booked her a hotel room. She was getting dressed in an upstairs bathroom when Brown walked in with his penis exposed. She immediately covered her eyes with her hands and walked out of the bathroom.”

“Brown then grabbed and kissed her without her consent. Ms. Taylor pushed him away and immediately left the room. Brown’s actions made Ms. Taylor extremely uncomfortable. She was in a long-term and serious relationship with another man and had no interest in a sexual relationship with Brown. But, because her professional relationship with Brown was important and because she took it seriously, Ms. Taylor willed herself to brush off the episode, hoping that Brown would stop pursuing her. In late June 2017, however, during another training visit, Brown and Ms. Taylor were watching a church service on Ms. Taylor’s iPad in Brown’s home in Miami, Florida.”

“As they had during their college Christian fellowship days, they often read scriptures, prayed or watched services together during training visits. On this occasion, Brown was behind Ms. Taylor as they watched the service on her tablet. Unbeknownst to Ms. Taylor, while she was focused on the religious video, Brown began masturbating behind her. Before she knew it or understood what was happening, Brown ejaculated on her.

“Specifically, Ms. Taylor felt a wet spot on her back and then suddenly realized what had happened. Thoroughly disgusted, Ms. Taylor exclaimed, ‘Ewww!’ Brown, unfazed by her reaction, jokingly responded, “oh ‘B’…you know, I’m sorry” and then left the room. Ms. Taylor was dismayed, confused and embarrassed. She called her mother, who advised her to immediately leave,” said the suit.

Not only was Taylor’s mother told, but allegedly was Brown’s chef at his home. That individual is not identified in the lawsuit.

“She also confided in Brown’s chef, whom she had befriended, about what happened and stated that she would not be returning to work for Brown. Shortly thereafter, she received a text message from Brown telling her she was fired. Brown also bragged in a preserved text message about masturbating on her, stating that he “jack [sic] [his] dick on [her] back” and that he was going to laugh with one of their mutual friends from college about it,” said the suit.

Nike - one of Brown's many partnerships

Chaotic Life

The lawsuit goes on to claim that Brown's life was spiraling. He staff was quitting on him and his obligations to endorsements were overwhelming Brown.

Taylor went back to work for Brown despite the earlier incidents.

"In approximately April 2018, Ms. Taylor returned to working during off-season weekends for Brown. His life, at this point, was in apparent chaos. Many of the people who worked with him previously had quit, including his chef and another trainer. They could no longer take Brown’s mistreatment and troubling behavior. He was also having trouble balancing the responsibilities he had arising out of his many endorsement deals, including with Campbell’s Soup, Nike, Pepsi, Pizza Hut, AT&T/DirecTV, and Rite Aid, among others. He showed up late to events he was required to attend for those sponsors or otherwise failed to hold up his contractual obligations," according to the suit.

"In the wake of staff defections and the chaos surrounding him, Brown often relied on Ms. Taylor to take care of his administrative needs when she was there with him on weekends. She was tasked with booking flights for him, keeping his travel schedule, making sure he arrived at sponsored events on time, and even babysitting his children," says the suit.

More Aggressive -- Alleged Rape

"On approximately May 20, 2018, Brown invited Ms. Taylor, another football player who trained with them, and a few friends for a night out while they were in Miami. The group went to a club. Ms. Taylor, Brown, and the other known football player left the club together in Ms. Taylor’s rental car. She drove the two men back to Brown’s home, where they were staying," says the suit.

"Ms. Taylor was planning to immediately drive to her hotel room but went into Brown’s home to use the restroom and grab some food from the kitchen. While Ms. Taylor was walking toward the front door, Brown grabbed her arm, told her he wanted to talk to her, and pulled her into his bedroom. They chatted for a few minutes, and when Ms. Taylor went to walk out of the room, Brown cornered her and pulled her down on the bed on her stomach, pushing her face down into the mattress.
She attempted to physically resist, but he pinned her down so that she was unable to fight back," according to the allegations.

"As she struggled, he lifted her dress and told her, 'you know you want this.' Ms. Taylor pleaded with him, shouting 'no' and 'stop.' But Brown refused and proceeded with great violence to penetrate her. Ms. Taylor protested and cried the entire time. When Brown finally released her, Ms. Taylor stood up in a state of trauma and shock, crying in front of him," says the suit.

"Devastated and disoriented, she ran into his foyer and collapsed on the ground. No one came to her rescue or to help her in any way. She was completely alone. Eventually, she summoned the strength to pick herself off the floor, make it to the door, get into her car and drive—dazed and emotionally shattered—to her hotel. She was so exhausted that she fell asleep at a stoplight on the drive back," states the lawsuit.

READ THE FULL LAWSUIT BELOW

Inside the Antonio Brown Lawsuit—Claims of Abuse, Bizarre and Chaotic Life

Antonio Brown Lawsuit - September, 2019

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