The case of former New England Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown took a new, strange turn Friday morning as video emerged online reported to show the former NFL star in a violent melee outside a Miami venue that was the site of a “celebrity” boxing event in Miami, Florida hosted by popular online personality Adin Ross.
While the video clearly shows a violent incident involving several men appearing to gang up on a man reported to be Brown, the factors that led to the frightening altercation remain in serious dispute. What is not in dispute is that the fight led Miami-Dade law enforcement authorities to seek attempted murder charges against Brown, 36, in relation to the incident that took place late in the evening of May 16, according to a Washington Post report based on court documents.
According to a warrant reviewed by the Post, Brown punched another man, then grabbed a security guard’s gun and fired at the alleged victim, leading to the attempted murder charge.
Brown had an extremely brief but tumultuous career with the Patriots, playing just one game in 2019 — in which he caught four passes including a touchdown from quarterback Tom Brady — before the team released him over allegations of rape and sexual assault in a lawsuit against him.
After that lawsuit was publicly reported, Brown reportedly sent “intimidating” text messages to the woman who was suing him. According to an ESPN report, “the text messages, sent while Brown was a member of New England Patriots, were viewed by some in the organization to have crossed the line,” and played a role in his release after just two weeks on the New England roster.
Following the May 16 incident in Miami, Brown took to his social media accounts to deny any wrongdoing, claiming that he was the victim of a robbery attempt.
“I was jumped by multiple individuals who tried to steal my jewelry and cause physical harm to me,” Brown’s post on the social media site X (formerly Twitter) read. “Contrary to some video circulating, Police temporarily detained me until they received my side of the story and then released me. I WENT HOME THAT NIGHT AND WAS NOT ARRESTED.”
But on Friday, the British Daily Mail tabloid newspaper reported an account from a man saying he was Brown’s victim that night, New Orelans-based artist and activist Zül-Qarnaįn Nantambu.
According to the Mail account, which has not been independently verified, Nantambu claims that he and Brown are engaged in a legal dispute over a 2022 incident in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in which the artist alleges that Brown — who played on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl winning 2020 team — “stole a valuable pendant he had designed and produced. Nantambu further said Brown lied to police in the United Arab Emirates, accusing him of theft and resulting in Nantambu’s brief imprisonment.”
Nantambu later sued Brown, according to the Mail account, winning a judgement of $968,960 in 2022. The judgment was vacated in 2024, however, and Nantambu is now in U.S. bankruptcy court seeking a reduced amount of $123,600, the Mail reported on Friday.
In an interview with the Mail, Nantambu speculates that Brown hoped he could end the lawsuit by shooting Brown with impunity under Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law.
“He thought he would get a free kill,” Nantambu alleges in the Mail interview.
Brown denies Nantambu’s allegations, according to court documents cited by the Daily Mail.
Nantambu briefly gained viral fame for a protest he staged during during the Super Bowl in February, when he ran onto the field during a halftime performance by rapper Kendrick Lamar, waving Palestinian and Sudanese flags.
