Arians: 'I Could Give a S--t ' What Critics Think About Antonio Brown Rejoining Bucs

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians is tuning out critics who questioned the team's decision to welcome back Antonio Brown following his three-game suspension.

"I could give a s--t what they think," Arians told reporters Monday.

Brown was suspended after misrepresenting his COVID-19 vaccination status earlier in the season.

As the Buccaneers prepared for the 2020 season amid the pandemic, Arians explained how he planned on taking every precaution necessary. Beyond the risk his players were taking, the 69-year-old has been treated for cancerous tumors on three occasions.

While living during the pandemic has become the new normal, Arians reiterated ahead of the 2021 season how his mindset had changed.

"There’s league rules and then there are my rules," he said in August.

He added that "our guys are going to make a bunch of sacrifices that you have to make now."

Not only did Brown's infraction seemingly fly in the face of how Arians has handled the situation, it meant the coach did quite the about-face regarding the seven-time Pro Bowler.

"He screws up one time, he's gone," Arians told NBC Sports' Peter King in October 2020. "I don't think he will because he wants to play."

At the time, Brown was still serving an eight-game suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. He had been accused of sexual assault and sexual misconduct by two different women and pleaded no contest in a battery case involving a moving truck driver. 

"The history has changed since that statement," Arians said Monday. "A lot of things went on last year that I was very proud of him and I made a decision this was best for our football team."

Brown is now eligible to suit up for Tampa Bay's Week 16 game against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.