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Sports
The Associated Press

Patriots release Antonio Brown after another accusation

New England Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown
New England Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown carries his helmet during an NFL football practice on Wednesday in Foxborough, Mass.
Steven Senne | AP Photo

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The New England Patriots have released receiver Antonio Brown after a second woman accused him of sexual misconduct.

The team announced the move Friday in a statement emailed to reporters.

The statement said: "We appreciate the hard work of many people over the past 11 days, but we feel that it is best to move in a different direction at this time."

Brown has been accused of rape in a lawsuit by a former trainer. He is also accused of exposing himself to a painter he had hired.

Brown has denied the allegations made in the lawsuit. Darren Heitner, a lawyer representing Brown, told The Associated Press his client plans to countersue.

Sports Illustrated also published a story Monday afternoon in which a second woman, an unnamed artist, alleged that Brown exposed himself to her while she was working on a mural for him at his Pittsburgh home in 2017.

In a statement issued Monday via Twitter, Heitner said Brown also denies the allegation made in the SI story.

"Antonio Brown has reviewed the sexual misconduct allegations made by an unnamed artist included in a recently published Sports Illustrated article and denies that he ever engaged in such activities," the statement said. "There will be no further comment at this time."

Brown has not spoken publicly since the lawsuit was filed and he did not address reporters leading up to the game against the Dolphins. He also was not made available following the Miami game and was not present in the locker room during a player availability on Monday.

Asked during his Monday morning conference call if he expected to hear anything from the NFL about Brown's availability this week, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, "I don't really know anything about that."

"I'll just answer any questions about the game, and I'm not getting into anything else outside of that right now," Belichick said.

In the lawsuit filed by Brown's former trainer Britney Taylor last week in Florida , she alleges Brown sexually assaulted her on three occasions. According to the lawsuit, Taylor says she was sexually assaulted by Brown on separate training trips to Pittsburgh and Florida that same month in 2017. It also alleges he forcibly raped her in 2018. The suit includes what it says are text messages from Brown bragging about the second assault.

The AP does not usually name the alleged victims of sex assaults, but Taylor was identified in the federal lawsuit and was quoted in a statement provided by her lawyer, David Haas.

The Patriots signed Brown this month hours after he was released by Oakland. He was traded to the Raiders after wearing out his welcome with the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he was a four-time All-Pro in nine seasons.