Antonio Brown accused of acquiring fake COVID vaccination card

[True Dough]

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown has been accused of obtaining a fake COVID-19 vaccination card, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

The Times reported Thursday that, according to Steven Ruiz -- a former personal chef for the wide receiver -- Brown had his girlfriend, model Cydney Moreau, reach out to Ruiz over the summer to obtain a fake vaccination card that said Brown had received the Johnson & Johnson shot. According to text messages provided by Ruiz, Moreau offered $500 for a fake card.

Ruiz said he was unable to acquire a fake card for Brown, according to the report, but he added that the wide receiver a few weeks later showed him ones he had for himself and Moreau that he said he had purchased. Brown reportedly was unwilling to get the vaccine because of possible side effects.

Ruiz said he went public with the accusation after Brown failed to pay $10,000 owed to him, according to the Times.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/32662241/antonio-brown-obtained-fake-covid-19-vaccination-card-former-chef-alleges

[exboyfil]

1. Isn't the standard Aaron Rodgers

So cost the Bucs a few bucks, right?

[True Dough]

3. It will be interesting to see

whether the punishments are consistent.

[Angleae]

4. Since when have the punishments in the NFL been consistant?

No, it's the "Wheel of Discipline."

[underpants]

2. Don't piss off the help

Former Gov. McDonnell in Va started his trouble by firing the Executive Mansion chef

[Angleae]

5. Suspended 3 games

Link to tweet

[True Dough]

6. Interdasting

Thanks for the update.

I looked up the third player. He's John Franklin III, a free agent.

[ProfessorGAC]

7. One More Fact, For You

He faked the card. The team caught him. They told him he better knock it off.
They reported him to the authorities & the NFL.
Authorities said the would not pursue legal remedies, after the team got him to agree to get vaxxed.
Yep, to avoid being in even more trouble he got vaxxed anyway.
I don't think he really had a reason to not get it, other than being a jerk. (49 of 54 players were vaxxed at that point.)
So, he does all this and gets the shot he could have gotten months prior, instead of creating drama & breaking the law.
That guy doesn't have a quarter's worth of sense.

[True Dough]

8. At this point

I think it's safe to say that AB has proven on a number of occasions that common sense and integrity are not his calling cards!

[ProfessorGAC]

9. Absolutely!

I kind of thought being shepherded by Brady was going to make a difference.
Not so much.

[True Dough]

10. Ol' Tommy boy doesn't mind sticking his neck out

But not every "reclamation" project is going to end on a satisfactory note. He can't succeed at everything in life!

[True Dough]

11. And it looks like there could be further consequences for Antonio Brown

I wonder if the Bucs will really pull the plug or if this is just an empty threat?

Link to tweet

[ProfessorGAC]

12. Odd

The Bugs knew about this in training camp. The acknowledged that they caught the fake ID, and that notified the proper people.
If they wanted to dump him over it, they could have done it in August.

[True Dough]

13. And the winds (and injuries) have changed...

TAMPA, Fla. -- Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians spoke in greater detail Monday about the decision to bring back wide receiver Antonio Brown after his latest suspension, despite Arians' own comments last year in which he said of Brown, "If he screws up one time, he's done."

What convinced Arians to give Brown another chance?

"Well, the history has changed since that statement," Arians said. "A lot of things went on last year that I was very proud of him. And I made a decision that was best for our football team."

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/32912290/tampa-bay-buccaneers-coach-bruce-arians-says-bringing-back-antonio-brown-best-our-football-team

[ProfessorGAC]

14. I Saw That On Sportscenter

Just like the Nets blinking with Irving. Now, they've got a guy who can only play on the road (except against Golden State & Toronto), and can't practice at home. And, the Nets barely ever practice on the road.
I get that all these teams are in the biz of winning games, but these are transparent & cynical moves.

[Angleae]

15. They lost their #1 receiver for the season last night.

He tore his ACL and sprained his MCL. He's done for the year, and a good chunk of next year.

[ProfessorGAC]

17. Per Mortensen...

...the decision to bring him back was before Godwin got hurt.
He reported they made the decision to bring Brown back on Friday, Saturday at the latest.
He said he learned of it before any of the games started on Sunday.
So, it appears Godwin's injury wasn't a factor in this call.
If they had been on the fence though, his injury likely would have been the deciding factor.

[True Dough]

16. One thing I haven't picked up on

is whether players who refused to get vaccinated and consequently must miss games, is their base contract adjusted accordingly? Obviously if they have incentives in their deals, it would be much more difficult, if not impossible, to achieve those targets, but if they signed a contract for $10 million guaranteed, do they still get a full payday even if only playing 50% or less of the schedule due to something that is their own choice?

[ProfessorGAC]

18. What I Recall...

...was they couldn't get the NFLPA to bite on that for a single player.
They did get agreement that if a game got canceled due to an outbreak caused by an unvaxxed player nobody on either team got paid.
The NFLPA likely agreed to it because proving it was caused by a single unvaxxed guy would be close to impossible.
Brown did lose 4 games of pay, because he was suspended for attempted fraud, not because he got COVID. (After he actually got vaxxed!). He lost >23% of his pay because he did this, but ended up getting the shots anyway. Stupid. Could have just done that in the 1st place.