NFL free agent Antonio Brown and Britney Taylor, his former personal trainer who accused him of sexually assaulting her, have settled their civil dispute for an undisclosed amount, meaning the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver will avoid a trial.
Representatives for both Brown and Taylor announced Wednesday that the dispute had been resolved. The two parties agreed not to disclose the settlement, according to multiple reports.
Taylor sued Brown in federal court back in 2019, but later refiled in Florida, claiming he sexually assaulted on three occasions between 2017 and 2018. Brown has denied the accusation and according to an ESPN report in 2019, refused to sign a $2 million settlement agreement.
No criminal charges were ever filed against Brown, who recently won his first Super Bowl as a member of the Buccaneers before his one-year contract expired.
NFL free agent Antonio Brown and Britney Taylor, his former personal trainer who accused him of sexually assaulting her, have settled their civil dispute for an undisclosed amount, meaning the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver will avoid a trial
Britney Taylor, who knew Brown from their time at Central Michigan University, sued him in 2019, claiming that he sexually assaulted her on three occasions between 2017 and 2018
Taylor (left) and Brown (right) reconnected in 2017, when he hired her as his personal trainer
Taylor’s lawyer, David Haas, released a statement announcing the decision on Wednesday.
‘Antonio and Britney have been friends for over a decade,’ Haas said. ‘Several years ago they almost became business partners. Recently, they were involved in aggressive litigation. Having reflected on their relationship, both feel that the time has come to move on.
‘Antonio is grateful for Britney’s excellent training assistance. They are pleased that Antonio is doing so well with the Bucs and has a ring. Their dispute is resolved and they wish each other great continued success.’
In her lawsuit, Taylor, a gymnast who first met Brown while they were both studying at Central Michigan University, claimed Brown exposed himself and kissed her without consent in 2017.
She also described a second alleged incident ‘later that same month’, in which Brown is said to have stood behind her and masturbated while she was watching television. Unaware of what he was doing, Taylor said she was surprised when Brown then ‘ejaculated on her back,’ according to the lawsuit obtained by DailyMail.com.
The lawsuit also claimed that Brown bragged to Taylor about carrying out the purported assault in ‘profane and angry text messages.’
As a result, Taylor ended her working relationship with Brown.
However, several months later, when he contacted her and ‘begged for forgiveness,’ she relented, saying she was, ‘swayed by his assurance that he would cease any sexual advances.’
But on May 20, 2018, Taylor says Brown assaulted her once more, this time pinning her only a bed, forcing her face into a mattress and ‘forcibly’ raping her.
Taylor said she tried to escape Brown’s hold, repeatedly screaming ‘no and stop’ at him, but the desperate cries allegedly fell on deaf ears and Brown was ‘too strong and physically overpowered her.’
According to the documents, Brown then refused to get off of her and then penetrated her.
‘As a rape victim of Antonio Brown, deciding to speak out has been an incredibly difficult decision,’ Taylor said in a statement released by her lawyer. ‘I have found strength in my faith, my family, and from the accounts of other survivors of sexual assault.’
Taylor, a former gymnast at Central Michigan and LSU, claimed in her lawsuit that she was so traumatized as a result of the three alleged attacks that she suffered ‘near-daily panic attacks, frequent suicidal ideations, and insomnia.’
Brown was a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers at the time of the alleged assault. When Taylor filed her lawsuit in federal court in 2019, the controversial receiver had just signed with New England following a brief, but turbulent, tenure with the Oakland Raiders, who waived him amid his disputes with the front office.
Brown was later released by the Patriots after only one game when a second woman came forward, accusing him of sexually harassing her when she painted a mural in his Pennsylvania home in 2017. Later, after coming forward, she claimed to have received threats from Brown and his friends via text message in an apparent attempt to silence her.
In 2020, Brown pleaded no contest to an assault charge stemming from an incident with a moving truck driver. He was placed on two years probation and also ordered to have a psychological evaluation and enroll in a 13-week anger management course.
