Thursday, news broke that Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown had attempted to purchase a fake COVID-19 vaccine card before the season in order to comply with NFL protocols. Brown’s representative said in response that Brown was indeed vaccinated while the Buccaneers put out a statement that they had done their due diligence and that, as far as they were concerned, Brown’s vaccination status was legitimate.
The NFL released a statement later on Thursday that they were aware of the situation and would investigate. It’s unknown what, if any, fines or suspensions could be in Brown’s future.
Meanwhile, Brown’s status for Monday’s game against the New York Giants is “questionable” due to an ankle injury and it seems unlikely that he will play.
In the meantime, Bucs head coach Bruce Arians was asked about the report of Brown’s vaccine status and he strongly refuted the notion that he gave the team a fake vaccine card.
I asked Bruce Arians if he had any reason to believe Antonio Brown produced a fake vaccine card. “None whatsoever. We did our due diligence. The league will do theirs. The statement says everything. I really don’t think it’s a story and it has nothing to do with the Giants game.” pic.twitter.com/qqgY1C0uEd
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) November 19, 2021
“We did our due diligence,” said Arians. “The league will do theirs. The statement says everything. I really don’t think it’s a story and it has nothing to do with the Giants game.”
Arians seems pretty sure that Brown’s status is legitimate and the league won’t find anything different. That will probably be the end of that, although when it comes to Antonio Brown there always seems to be something new around the bend.
