Antonio Brown, the star wide receiver who was released after one game with the New England Patriots amid sexual assault allegations, said Sunday that he will no longer be playing in the NFL.
"These owners can cancel deals do whatever they want at anytime," Brown said in a post on Twitter Sunday morning.
The Patriots were the second team to release Brown this month after the Oakland Raiders cut his dramatic stint in California short before the season. Brown signed with the Raiders following an acrimonious split with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
After New England signed him, Brown was accused of sexually assaulting his former trainer, according to a lawsuit she filed. His lawyers have denied all allegations stemming from the lawsuit.
Shortly after the announcement that he was leaving the NFL, Brown tweeted about other figures within the league who faced sexual misconduct allegations, broadcaster and former Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe and his former quarterback in Pittsburgh, Ben Roethlisberger. He also took a shot at Patriots owner Robert Kraft for being charged with soliciting prostitution at a Florida spa.
Brown has since deleted the tweets about Sharpe, Roethlisberger and Kraft.
Sports Illustrated reported last week that Brown allegedly sent "intimidating" text messages to a second woman who has also accused him of unwanted sexual advances.
He called this woman "super broke" and threatened to "look up her background," according to her lawyers, who sent copies of the text messages to NFL offices and the Patriots on Thursday.
The NFL said in a statement Friday that, "Our office is presently investigating multiple allegations, some of which are the subject of pending litigation. We have as yet made no findings regarding these issues."
The league said that as Brown is currently an unrestricted free agent, and placement on the "Commissioner's exempt list" — in essence being placed on paid leave — was not appropriate at this time.
It's unclear how Brown's announcement Sunday will impact the NFL's investigations.
