Patriots Receiver's Stormy Month Just Got Worse

Antonio Brown has had a tumultuous month. After a reported verbal to-do at a practice in early September with the Oakland Raiders, Brown asked to be released and then signed with the New England Patriots. Now, a new problem for the 31-year-old wide receiver: a civil lawsuit filed Tuesday in Florida alleging rape, brought by a gymnast who says she worked as Brown's trainer after they were Bible study partners at Central Michigan University, per ESPN. The New York Times reports that Britney Taylor, 28, accuses Brown of three instances of sexual assault: two times in June 2017, then another in May of last year. In the first alleged incident, per the complaint, Brown kissed Taylor without her consent and exposed himself to her; in the second, she said Brown masturbated on her from behind while they watched religious programming at his home.

Taylor alleges she then cut off working with Brown, but started up again after he apologized and vowed to "cease any sexual advances," per the complaint. Taylor alleges that Brown then threw her on a bed, shoved her face into a mattress, and raped her in May 2018, despite her protests. "Mr. Brown denies each and every allegation in the lawsuit," Darren Heitner, one of Brown's lawyers, says in a statement. Heitner hints at a possible countersuit and adds that for a time in 2018, Brown and Taylor were in a "personal relationship" and that "any sexual interaction with Mr. Brown was entirely consensual." The Patriots say they'll do their own investigation into the allegations, noting in a statement they take the complaint "very seriously." Taylor's suit seeks more than $75,000. (More Antonio Brown stories.)