FOXBORO, Mass. — Despite Bill Belichick’s best efforts, questions about the rape allegations against Antonio Brown dominated the New England Patriots head coach’s Wednesday morning news conference.
After opening his presser with praise for the Patriots’ upcoming opponent, the Miami Dolphins, Belichick briefly addressed the allegations against the wide receiver, who was accused of three counts of sexual assault and rape in a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday. Brown denied these accusations through his attorney Tuesday night.
Belichick then declined to answer subsequent questions about Brown, revealing only that he expects the wideout to practice Wednesday afternoon. The news conference lasted just over four minutes.
Here is the full transcript of Belichick’s presser, excluding his opening statement about the Dolphins:
BB: “On Antonio’s situation, both Antonio and his representatives have made statements, so I’m not going to be expanding on any of those. They are what they are. We’ve looked into the situation. We’re taking it very seriously, all the way through the organization. I’m sure there are questions, but I’m not going to be entering into the discussion about that today.”
Q: Were you aware of the lawsuit when you signed Antonio Brown?
BB: “I’m not going to be expanding on the statements that have already been given.”
Q: Don’t you think the fans deserve to hear a little more from you on —
BB: “When we know more, we’ll say more.”
Q: — such a major development that could impact the team?
BB: “I just said that.”
Q: Don’t you think fans deserve to hear a little bit more?
BB: “When we know more, we’ll say more.”
Q: Are you preparing to have Antonio Brown at practice today?
BB: “Yes.”
Q: And are you preparing for him to play on Sunday?
BB: “We’re taking it one day at a time, just like we always do.”
Q: Are you preparing for the possibility that he could be on the commissioner’s exempt list?
BB: “We’re preparing for one day at a time.”
Q: How much weight will the allegations against him weigh into whether you play him on Sunday?
BB: “Yeah, I appreciate all the questions, and that’s — what’s been said has been said.”
Q: You brought up Randy Moss yesterday. Do you think that Antonio Brown will require as much attention as Moss did to get him in sync with the team?
BB: “Yeah, I didn’t say that.”
Q: I’m asking you.
BB: “Yeah, I don’t know.”
Q: You don’t know if he’ll require more attention?
BB: “No.”
Q: How difficult or frustrating is it to have a distraction like this right at the beginning of the season?
BB: “Yeah, we’re working on Miami. We’re working on Miami. The rest of it is — we’re on Miami.”
Q: You’ve had bigger distractions before. Are you confident that this is not going to throw you off track at all?
BB: “We’re working on Miami. We went through the scouting report, went through the game plan today. We’re going to practice for Miami.”
Q: Can you tell us at all what Antonio Brown has said to you?
BB: “Yeah, I mean, I’m done with that, OK? Anything else on Miami? Any other questions?”
Q: Can you explain what you mean when you (say) you’re done with it? I mean, we’re just trying to figure out if he said anything to you, specifically about the allegations.
BB: “Yeah, well, I just answered that question.”
Q: Actually, you didn’t.
BB: “Actually, I did.”
