Former NFL WR Antonio Brown wanted in Tampa over misdemeanor battery charge

Tampa police attempted to arrest former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown Thursday afternoon following a short standoff outside of his South Tampa house.

Earlier in the day, the Hillsborough County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office had issued an arrest warrant for Brown, 34, on a misdemeanor domestic violence battery charge from an incident Monday afternoon.

The warrant was posted to the county's court records website.

According to WFTS Tampa Bay, police had been posted outside of Brown's house Thursday for at least an hour, attempting to get him to come out. According to WFTS, police used a megaphone to call to Brown, told him they had already spoken to his attorney, knocked on the door and, at one point, said through the megaphone: "We're not going anywhere."

Yet, a reporter from FOX13 News in Tampa said police left Brown's home later in the day after he refused to come out.

Another report from NBC News later on Thursday indicated that Tampa police made "attempts to take Antonio Brown into custody" but that there is not currently an active standoff. The report stated Brown was "not communicating" and that police were not certain if Brown was even in the house – so a decision was made not to risk officer safety over a misdemeanor charge.

In an email to USA TODAY Sports, Tampa police spokesperson Merissa Lynn wrote that officers were dispatched to Brown's house Monday at around 1:30 p.m. in response to a verbal altercation between Brown and a woman. Police said the altercation turned physical "at some point later on" after Brown threw a shoe at the alleged victim. Police said Brown "also attempted to evict the victim from the residence and locked her out of the home."

On Tuesday, per Hillsborough County court records, the Tampa Police Department filed a temporary risk protection order against Brown. The order would prevent him from possessing a gun or ammunition if he "poses a significant danger of causing personal injury to himself … or others." Later on Tuesday, a judge denied the request.

This latest incident adds to a list of several run-ins Brown has had with law enforcement. In June 2020, Brown pleaded no contest to charges related to a fight with a moving truck driver outside his home in Hollywood, Florida earlier that year.

As part of a deal with Broward County prosecutors in that case, Brown pleaded no contest to burglary with battery, burglary of an unoccupied conveyance and criminal mischief. He was ordered to serve two years of probation, undergo a psychological evaluation and follow-up treatment, attend an anger management course, perform 100 hours of community service and follow a stay-away order from the truck driver and the moving company owner.

In October, a Broward County jury ordered Brown to pay $1.2 million in damages to the driver.

Brown played parts of 11 seasons in the NFL with the Pittsburgh Steelers (2010-18), New England Patriots (2019) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2020-21).

Brown had also been with the Raiders after Pittsburgh traded him to Oakland in March 2019. Brown, however, had multiple disagreements with the Raiders front office, leading to the team cutting him Sept. 7 of that year. Later that day the Patriots agreed to a one-year deal with Brown that would've been worth up to $15 million.

Brown would only play one game with New England, after Sports Illustrated published two reports, one on a previously undisclosed sexual assault allegation and another indicating that Brown sent threatening messages to one of the women who had accused him of misconduct. The Patriots then released Brown 12 days after they had signed him.

Brown would eventually latch back into the NFL with Tampa Bay. He played two seasons there, becoming one of Tom Brady's favorite targets and catching a touchdown in the team's eventual Super Bowl 55 victory.

In a January. 2 game against the Jets, his final one in the NFL, Brown removed his uniform, pads and more before leaving the field topless in the middle of the third quarter. The Bucs released Brown after the incident.

Contributing: Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Antonio Brown wanted in Tampa over misdemeanor battery charge