Antonio Brown had a productive day in his debut with the New England Patriots in Sunday’s blowout win against the Dolphins. He caught four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown and was targeted eight times.
But Brown hadn’t spoken to reporters since a lawsuit alleging sexual assault was filed against him in Florida, and come Sunday’s postgame media availability, Brown was gone.
According to reporters at Hard Rock Stadium, Brown’s locker was already cleared out when the Patriots opened up the locker room for the media. The reporters were told that Brown had already left the stadium.
Brown is required by the NFL Media Policy to be available to the media after games, so him dodging the press before the locker room was opened would clearly be in violation of that policy.
The Patriots wide receiver likely knew he was going to be asked about the lawsuit, and he could have avoided answering those questions with a statement to start his availability.
Instead, he opted to subject himself to a probable fine from the league.
