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Antonio Brown shooting row: Ex-Bucs WR, Tom Brady's friendship is over; ‘arrest is sad’
Antonio Brown has lost one of his best friends since the Miami shooting case first broke out - Tom Brady.
Antonio Brown has lost one of his best friends since the Miami shooting case first broke out. The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR was extradited to the US from Dubai this week and is facing attempted murder charges. The 37-year-old was initially brought to the jail in Essex County, New Jersey, before being shifted to Miami on Friday.
“Brown is back at the Essex County Jail in Newark, where he is awaiting pick up by Florida authorities,” Carmen Martin, spokeswoman for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, said.
Read More: ‘Free AB’: Antonio Brown's extradition triggers massive row after ex-WR's update; mugshot out
Brown is accused of grabbing a handgun from a security staffer after a celebrity boxing match on May 16 and firing two shots at a man he had gotten into a fistfight with earlier. The victim, Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, told investigators one of the bullets grazed his neck.
While the ex-WR awaits trial, it was reported that the shooting case has ruined his friendship with his former teammate and NFL GOAT, Tom Brady.
The Daily Mail on Friday cited insiders to report that despite Brown taunting him over his divorce from Gisele Bundchen, Tom Brady stood by the shooting accused. However, the friendship is completely over now.
Brown and Brady played together at New England and later in Tampa Bay, where they won the Super Bowl together. Their chemistry on the field was pure magic. However, Antonio Brown's dramatic storming from the pitch deteriorated their relationship in 2022.
Read More: Antonio Brown extradite row: Ex-Steelers star's last update before arrest; 'winning days'
Brown also taunted Brady over his high-profile divorce. The star quarterback, however, responded with compassion. But, since the gun case in Miami, Brady has not offered any support to his former teammate.
In 2024, Antonio Brown apologized to Tom Brady, saying: “You helped me succeed. You came and got me in the dirt, champ. Helped me be a champion. Helped me be a part of greatness, witness you be so great as a leader and as a person. I never took those things for granted, man. I couldn't live on without letting you know that as a man. I got nothing but the utmost respect for you, and I'm asking for your forgiveness.”
However, only a year later, their relationship went south.
“Tom looked after Antonio for so long and supported him through many of his ups and downs and wanted him to get the help he needed, and Tom was there for him behind the scenes,” an insider told the Daily Mail.
“He continued to root for him to be great both on the field and in life. But once Antonio started talking more about Tom and the more it got negative, Tom continued to take the high road and still wanted to be there for him if he needed help. But it has been going more downhill in the last few years or so and there isn't a friendship anymore.”
Tom Brady has not made any public comments on Antonio Brown's arrest yet.
