Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown was arrested in Dubai and is being held in New Jersey on Thursday while awaiting extradition to Miami to be tried for attempted murder on May 17. File Photo by Archie Carpenter/UPI | License Photo
Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown was arrested in Dubai and is being extradited to Miami to be tried for attempted murder following a shooting on May 17.
U.S. Marshals arrested Brown, 37, in Dubai and flew him to Essex County, New Jersey, where he awaits extradition to Miami to stand trial, ESPN reported.
Brown had been in Dubai for several months prior to his arrest and was overseas when a warrant for his arrest was issued in June, according to WPLG in Miami.
After learning of the warrant, Brown retained an attorney who obtained a $10,000 bond that would place him under house arrest, but he did not return to southern Florida.
Brown attended a celebrity boxing event in Miami on May 16 that led to an altercation with several people early the next morning after the event ended.
Security staff intervened, and Brown allegedly grabbed a pistol from one of them and used it to fire two shots at Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, ESPN reported.
The gunshots triggered a ShotSpotter alert and a police response at about 3 a.m. EDT, leading to police detaining Brown.
They released Brown about four hours later after they were unable to locate a victim. Nantambu later said one of the bullets grazed his neck.
Brown said he was the victim of an attempted robbery, which he ckaimed led to the fight and shots fired.
“I was jumped by multiple individuals who tried to steal my jewelry and cause physical harm to me,” Brown said afterward in a social media post.
“Police temporarily detained me until they received my side of the story and then released me,” he said. “I went home that night and was not arrested.”
Brown is accused of second-degree attempted murder, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Brown is a Miami native who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers from 2010 to 2019, played one game with the New England Patriots in 2019, and spent his last two seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before retiring after the 2021 season.
He played in 146 NFL games, during which he caught 928 passes for 12,291 yards and scored 83 touchdowns while posting an average of 13.2 yards per catch.
He also scored four touchdowns while returning punts and another while returning kicks.
Many considered him to be the NFL’s best active wide receiver, and Brown helped the Buccaneers win the 2021 Super Bowl.
During the 2011 NFL season, he became the first player to post at least 1,000 yards receiving and at least 1,000 return yards while returning kicks and punts, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He also set the Steelers record with 2,2011 all-purpose yards and was named their’ most valuable player for 2011.
The Steelers drafted Brown out of Central Michigan University in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL draft.
Brown is eligible for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but his off-field issues could exclude him from consideration.
