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Antonio Brown's former personal trainer has accused the New England Patriots wide receiver of raping her on multiple occasions.
The federal lawsuit was filed in the southern district of Florida, where Brown lives.
The troubled NFL star is facing possible rape charges after Britney Taylor filed a lawsuit against him on Tuesday, Sept. 10.
Taylor says she met Brown in Bible study when they were student-athletes at Central Michigan University. Brown hired her as his personal trainer in June 2017. Troubling incidents soon followed.
The former gymnast said the first incident occurred when "Brown exposed himself and kissed [her] without her consent."
Taylor says she forgave Brown after he apologized and promised it would never happen again.
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The second incident occurred not long afterwards, when Taylor claims "Brown cornered [her] forced her onto a bed, shoved her face into the mattress, and forcibly raped her" from behind.
She said she resisted but Brown was "too strong and physically overpowered her." He continued the assault despite her saying "No" and pleading with him to "Stop."
After accepting his second apology, Taylor believed he was sincere. Then the third incident occurred, according to court papers.
"As they had during their college Christian fellowship days, they often read scriptures, prayed or watched services together during training visits," according to the documents obtained by the NY Post.
While they watched one religious video less than a month after the first incident, Brown masturbated behind Taylor and ejaculated onto her back, the suit alleges.
The next day, Brown sent Taylor profanity-laced videos insulting her and her mother.
Through her attorneys, the attractive born-again Christian says she came forward to help other women and not for monetary gain.
"As a rape victim of Antonio Brown, deciding to speak out has been an incredibly difficult decision... Speaking out removes the shame that I have felt for the past year and places it on the person responsible for my rape."
Taylor is seeking compensation for "physical injuries, pain and suffering, humiliation, embarrassment, stress and anxiety, loss of self-esteem and self-confidence, and emotional pain and suffering."
The Patriots, who signed Brown to a one-year, $15 million deal on Saturday, released a statement to the news media on Tuesday.
"We are aware of the civil lawsuit that was filed earlier today against Antonio Brown, as well as the response by Antonio’s representatives. We take these allegations very seriously. Under no circumstance does this organization condone sexual violence or assault. The league has informed us they will be investigating. We will have no further comment while that investigation takes place."
Brown's attorney vigorously denied the allegations.
Darren Heitner issued a statement saying Taylor only filed the lawsuit after Brown refused to invest $1.6 million in a "business project" she pitched to him.
He said Taylor showed no interest in the awkward student-athlete until she realized he was a star professional football player.
But her attorneys claim Brown pursued their client aggressively.
"In approximately 2013, Ms. Taylor's senior year at LSU, Brown sent her a message on social media, asking for a picture of her. Ms. Taylor sent him a picture of her face. Dissatisfied, Brown asked for a more revealing one. Ms. Taylor refused, reminding Brown that they were just friends. For approximately four years after Ms. Taylor graduated from LSU, the two fell out of touch. In June 2017, Brown reached out to Ms. Taylor via Facebook asking her how she was doing."
"During the course of this renewed contact, Brown indicated he wanted Ms. Taylor's help improving flexibility and strength in his ankles and fast twitch muscles – areas in which she had developed expertise through gymnastics. As a result, the two agreed that Ms. Taylor would provide physical training services to Brown... Ms. Taylor never dated or had an interest in any romantic relationship with Brown. Their relationship, as far as Ms. Taylor believed and behaved, was that of a 'brother-sister' type."
Taylor's attorneys say, after the rapes, she sought guidance from a church leader who was a former assistant district attorney and sex crimes prosecutor in New York.
But Heitner disputed Taylor's version of the events, claiming Taylor admitted to having a "consensual personal relationship" with Brown and that she continues to post pictures of herself with Brown online in an attempt to profit from her association with him.
Heitner says Brown will "pursue all legal remedies to not only clear his name, but to also protect other professional athletes against false accusations" from sports groupies.
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