With Antonio Brown suspended after it surfaced that he had paid money to forge a vaccination card, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers really played themselves. They could do nothing but watch as the NFL simply suspended two of their players and a former player after they determined that the players had lied about their vaccine status. The safety for the team, Mike Edwards, as well as former receiver John Franklin III, were also handed suspensions for their dubious vaccine status.
Antonio Brown Suspended For Forging Vaccine Card
Now, Bruce Arians had stated on the 2nd of September that everyone on the team had been completely vaccinated. For Arians, ‘everyone’ included players, coaches, every single member of the team. One can assume that the head coach of one of the biggest teams in the NFL wouldn’t be making such a comment if Antonio Brown and the other players had maintained their unvaccinated statuses with integrity.
But the trio didn’t and rather filed as vaccinated players so they wouldn’t have to deal with the league requirements in place for unvaccinated players.
It would be quite easy to blame the Buccaneers for the mess that has come up, but there has to be a level of trust between the team and the players, especially ones with an elite status like Antonio Brown. No team would win a game without trust, and managers have to provide people with the benefit of the doubt in order to build up a relationship. One couldn’t simply develop a cynical outlook and expect relationships to form.
But, one thing that the Buccaneers can be blamed for is their shortsightedness with Antonio Brown. Although Brown may be a good player, he is also the same person that drove organizations like the Steelers, the Raiders, and the Patriots crazy enough to the point where they ended up trading him for any amount of money and to any club that would make the offer.
