Report: Antonio Brown Ordered to Pay $100K to Britney Taylor for Breach in Deal

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown has filed an appeal after an independent arbitrator ruled he must pay $100,000 to Britney Taylor, who said he raped and twice sexually assaulted her in a September 2019 lawsuit, for violating a confidentiality agreement they signed as part of settlement talks.

On Saturday, TMZ Sports reported the arbitrator determined Brown's social media post of a screenshot discussing the case in 2019 represented a breach, but the NFL player has filed court documents to request the ruling be vacated before he's forced to pay the compensation.

Taylor and Brown met at Central Michigan University in 2010. Brown reached out to her in 2017, after she'd become a personal trainer, to ask for help to prepare for the NFL season.

Tadd Hislop of Sporting News noted Taylor alleged in the lawsuit Brown sexually assaulted her on two occasions in June 2017, which led her to break off the working relationship. Her lawsuit described the assaults: "First, Brown exposed himself and kissed Ms. Taylor without her consent. Later that month, Brown, while positioned behind Ms. Taylor, began masturbating near her without her knowledge and ejaculated on her back."

He allegedly reached out to express remorse several months later, and Taylor said she agreed to help him train again after Brown promised to stop his behaviour. However, she alleged Brown then raped her in May 2018, which has left her "severely traumatized," per Hislop.

Taylor is seeking compensatory and punitive damages for the "brutal and sadistic misconduct."

In November 2019, Brown filed a countersuit against Taylor that denied the allegations and labeled them as defamation that caused him to lose lucrative contracts, per CNN's Jason Hanna and Rebekah Riess.

"Taylor's false accusations about Brown interfered with the contracts and business relationships he had with the NFL, as well as multiple businesses with whom he had contracts for sponsorships and endorsements, resulting in significant financial loss for Brown," the legal filing said.

The trial for Taylor's lawsuit was originally scheduled for Dec. 14-18 last year, but the start date was delayed until Dec. 6, 2021.

Brown received an eight-game suspension from the NFL for multiple violations of the league's personal conduct policy. He signed with Tampa Bay in October and made his debut in Week 9.

The Bucs have advanced to Sunday's NFC Championship Game against the Green Bay Packers, but the 32-year-old receiver has been ruled out because of a knee injury.