Antonio Brown Pleads No Contest in Moving Truck Driver Battery Case

Free-agent wide receiver Antonio Brown pled no contest to charges related to his moving truck driver battery case earlier this year, his attorney Carson Hancock confirmed in a statement.

On Friday, Brown appeared in a Broward County (Fla.) courtroom wearing a mask and changed his plea from not guilty. A judge sentenced Brown to two years of probation, ordered him to undergo a psychological evaluation and to take a 13-week anger management course. He must do 100 hours of community service and has been ordered to stay away from the two victims, according to WPLG. 

Brown originally faced three charges of felony burglary conveyance, misdemeanor battery and misdemeanor criminal mischief for the incident that took place at his Florida home in January. 

In the alleged incident, Brown was accused of refusing to pay a $4,000 moving fee for a company that was delivering his items to Florida from his California home. The driver claimed Brown threw a rock at the moving truck and assaulted him. Glenn Holt, Brown's trainer, also allegedly attacked the driver.

In his statement, Hancock called the case a "misunderstanding concerning the payment of costs" for moving the wide receiver's belongings from California to Florida. 

Hancock said that after Brown paid the fee, the moving truck driver demanded an "extra time" fee. While they were discussing that fee, Brown's friends started unloading boxes out of the moving van, some of which did not belong to the wide receiver. The mover attempted to stop them from unloading the goods, and the boxes not belonging to Brown were placed back in the van.

"Nevertheless, several people, including Antonio, were charged with burglary of a conveyance and misdemeanor battery," Hancock said in the statement. "Rather than engage in a protracted legal case, Antonio decided to resolve this matter in an expeditious manner. But for the impediments to Court proceedings created by the Covid-19 restrictions, Antonio's case would have been disposed of several weeks earlier."

The former Steelers and Patriots WR is allowed to travel nationwide for work under probation. Brown missed most of the 2019 season after New England released him in September, and he has stated his desire to return to the NFL.

The NFL opened an investigation into Brown after his former trainer Britney Taylor accused him of rape and sexual assault last year. In Septemeber 2019, Sports Illustrated released a story including a second account of sexual misconduct involving Brown. Brown has denied the accusations.