In a not so shocking turn of events, the NFL has not moved swiftly to punish one of its marquee players.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Florida, Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown was accused of sexually assaulting his trainer Britney Taylor on three separate occasions. While the NFL has the option to place the former Raiders receiver on the commissioner's exempt list while they investigate the allegations, the Patriots are preparing for Brown to play Sunday against the Miami Dolphins, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported Friday.
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While Yahoo! Sports' Charles Robinson reported Thursday the NFL would like to move quickly as it pertains to the allegations against Brown, there could be some issue as to whether Brown can be placed on paid leave due to the fact this is a civil case and not a criminal case.
On Friday, Dan Patrick reported Brown would not be placed on the commissioner's exempt list.
Neither the Raiders nor the Patriots reportedly knew about the incoming lawsuit, and with Brown practicing with his new team Wednesday and Thursday, it appears he's planning to make his Patriots debut Sunday against the Dolphins.
Brown has denied the allegations against him.
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The four-time All-Pro receiver recently pushed his way out of Oakland after an offseason that was filled with high drama, including frostbitten feet, a helmet grievance and a dust-up with Raiders general manager Mike Mayock.
[RELATED: Gruden wishes Pats 'good luck' with AB in final word on saga]
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, unsurprisingly, didn't want to talk about the lawsuit, and Raiders head coach Jon Gruden asked that all questions pertaining to Brown be directed to his current employer in Foxboro.
Brown was supposed to be the game-changing offensive weapon to take the Raiders attack to the next level -- but the Silver and Black looked just fine without him in Week 1 -- dispatching the Broncos 24-16 at the Coliseum.