Bucs Release Statement Following Reports of Antonio Brown Buying Fake Vaccine Card
After reports circulated online of Tampa Bay Buccaneers receiver Antonio Brown allegedly buying a fake COVID-19 vaccination card to avoid NFL protocols, the Bucs have released a statement on the matter. The rumors began swirling after Brown's former chef gave those details to a reporter.
The original report on the matter came from @TB_Times and you can see that post on Twitter here.
Per the report, Brown's former live-in chef was the informant regarding his procuring of a fake vaccination card to avoid NFL protocols. The chef, Steven Ruiz, provided a text conversation between Brown's reported girlfriend and himself which apparently shows her inquiring about acquiring "COVID cards" on behalf of "Ab".
According to Ruiz, Brown owes him $10,000 per the above report.
Multiple outlets reported on the story regarding Brown and his former chef.
Of course, this would have major impacts on the Buccaneers organization and Antonio Brown if true. So, the team has gotten as ahead of the reports as possible and put out an official statement.
See the statement posted by the @Buccaneers Twitter account below.
The Bucs describe their due diligence in reviewing vaccination cards from all of their players before submitting to the NFL.
We will have to wait and see what comes of the reports. Obviously, screenshots of text conversations are not the most hard-hitting evidence. But, the report was enough to get a statement out of the Buccaneers.