Brown was forced to play injured by Bruce

Antonio Brown finally broke his silence on the incident that ended his Bucs career, claiming the team gave him a “powerful and sometimes dangerous painkiller” and forced him to play despite knowing he had a serious ankle injury.

Brown, 33, removed his jersey and apparel and walked off the Met Life field in the Week 17 game against the New York Jets.

“Because of my commitment to the game, I gave in to direct pressure from my coach to play injured. Despite the pain, I dressed. The staff injected me with what I now know was a powerful and sometimes dangerous painkiller that the NFLPA warned against using, and I gave it my all for the team,” Brown said in a statement issued by his attorney.

The 7-time Pro Bowl continued, asserting that the pain reached a point where he could no longer endure it.

“I played until it became clear that I could not use my ankle to safely perform my playing responsibilities. On top of that, the pain was extreme. I sat on the sideline and my trainer came up to me, very upset, and yelled, ‘What’s wrong with you?’ I said, ‘It’s my ankle.’ But he knew.”

AB said Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians didn’t care and demanded that he return to the game.

Brown notes that he responded, “Coach, I can’t.” Instead, he yelled at me, “You’re done!” while running his finger down his throat. “Coach kept telling me that if I didn’t play hurt, then I was done with the Bucs.”

“I didn’t quit. I got cut. I didn’t walk away from my brothers. I got kicked out,” the receiver said.

As for the Bucs, Arians claimed he never discussed an ankle injury with Antonio.

Clearly, AB and the team have two different views of what happened on the field in what was one of the most bizarre and surreal moments in NFL history.