Antonio Brown accuses Buccaneers of trying to bribe him into 'the crazy house'

For Pittsburgh Steelers fans, this one has to be interesting to watch from afar.

Another day, another chapter in the story of Antonio Brown versus Bruce Arians — aka A.B. versus B.A.

The former Steelers wide receiver and the former Steelers offensive coordinator are in a mud-slinging battle that could carry well into the offseason.

At least Tampa Bay is the epicenter this time, not Pittsburgh.

During an interview that aired on Tuesday’s episode of HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” Brown and his lawyer leveled some significant allegations against his most recent team.

In his first TV interview since being cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bryant Gumbel interviews controversial NFL star Antonio Brown and his lawyer Sean Burstyn. Catch a new episode of #RealSports tonight on @hbomax pic.twitter.com/Cx7IXClj7C

— Real Sports (@RealSportsHBO) January 25, 2022

Brown’s lawyer Sean Burstyn claims that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers used enough Toradol on his client over a period of at least two weeks that he couldn’t feel the damage he was doing to his injured ankle. That’s until Brown insisted the level of pain was so bad that he told Arians at halftime of the Week 17 game against the New York Jets that he could no longer play. Thus, resulting in Arians—now Tampa Bay’s head coach—allegedly telling Brown to “get the eff off the field.”

That response from Arians was the apparent catalyst for Brown’s now infamous shirtless exit from MetLife Stadium.

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Brown also denied Arians’ claim that he was simply mad about not getting enough targets during the game. The former All-Pro then went on to make a headline-grabbing allegation when he refuted recent suggestions that he needed mental help.

“These guys at Tampa Bay Bucs tried to make an agreement with me to give me $200,000 to go to the crazy house so these guys could look like they know what they’re talking about,” Brown said.

When Gumbel pressed brown for more information, Burstyn stepped in to explain.

“The offer was Antonio would basically sit on the sidelines, go on some list — and commit himself to some form of intensive mental health treatment. And we were specifically told, in writing, by the general manager (Jason Licht), twice, ‘Don’t spin this any other way,’” Burstyn said.

There has been no comment yet from the Bucs via their social media or team website.

Meanwhile, ProFootballNetwork.com is reporting that former Steelers quarterback and current Bucs offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich is emerging as the favorite to get the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching job. He was a quarterback with the Jags for four years.

The website is also reporting that another former Steeler turned Bucs assistant coach, ex-linebacker Larry Foote, is believed to be on the short list of potential assistants that Leftwich may bring with him to Jacksonville off of the current Tampa staff.