Antonio Brown accused of falsifying vaccination, Buccaneers deny wrongdoing
Antonio Brown was left in the middle of a firestorm. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver was accused by his former live-in chef of getting a fake COVID-19 vaccine card to bypass NFL health and safety protocols this season.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Brown's girlfriend asked to pay the chef to buy the fake card from Johnson & Johnson.
Although the text did not refer to Brown by name, it did mention his more popular nickname 'AB.' According to the cook, Brown wanted to get a fake card for the vaccine from Johnson & Johnson because it is a single shot and did not require a lot of paperwork.
An alleged screenshot of text messages from Brown's girlfriend, model Cydney Moreau, to Los Angeles chef Steven Ruiz on July 2 also details the alleged arrangement between the two.
Although Ruiz said he was unable to get the fake cards for Brown and Moreau, Brown showed him the ones he got elsewhere for himself. That reportedly occurred just before the Buccaneers had to report to training camp.
The Brown's personal trainer, Alex Guerrero, allegedly took a photo of the fake vaccination card that same night to mark him as one of the vaccinated players.
The Los Angeles chef claims Brown owes him and his food company $10,000 after failing to pay him for his services.
Ruiz also contacted Kevin Blatt, who is known for selling stories to newspapers. Blatt is credited with publishing the Paris Hilton sex tape in 2003.
The Bucs' response
Following the Times report Thursday afternoon, the Buccaneers assured in a statement that "no irregularities" were observed on their players' vaccination cards.
"After an extensive educational process conducted throughout our organization this past offseason highlighting the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccines," reads the statement.
Although the Buccaneers claimed to be a "100% vaccinated" team, Brown was one of the few players on the team to miss a game because he contracted COVID-19.
Post a Comment