The Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue to fight through negative headlines early in 2022.
First up the team has spent weeks dealing with chatter surrounding Antonio Brown and his dramatic departure from the team.
Bruce Arians was in the middle of that as Brown claimed his head coach told him to leave the field for refusing to go back into the game with an injury.
The “he said, he said” situation may have no solution.
Yet Brown’s case received an interesting bump Wednesday as Arians was fined $50,000 for striking his own player during Sunday’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles.
That has the NFL world and Brown defenders reacting in a major way on social media.
Antonio Brown was … Right?
— Gary Dooley (@NaturalGaz) January 19, 2022
NFL World React To The Arians Fine
$50,000 is quite the steep punishment handed down by the NFL.
But it remains clear the league has a zero-tolerance policy for coaches striking players, which is a good thing.
Bruce Arians deserves that fine! @Buccaneers
— Jim Rodela (@jimrodela) January 19, 2022
@BruceArians You embarrassed your player and yourself on national TV, clearly violating NFL rules. Be a man, pay your fine.
— Thomas S. Nash (@delawaresquid) January 19, 2022
Bruce Arians struck his own player and received A $50,000 fine , when asked if he regretted the incident , he responds by saying "no" If the roles were reversed and a player hit a coach, that player would get kicked off the team. #nfl #Bucs #antoniobrown
— Breaking Trends News (@breakingtrendsn) January 19, 2022
Arians’ side of the story is that he was trying to get his player, Andrew Adams, away from the pile to avoid a penalty.
Yet he could have done that without hitting him and then throwing an elbow.
Wow, #BruceArians got a $50k fine fine for hitting his own player Bucs #26 Adams in the head and shoulder. Gives more credence to AB's POV that Arians did the slash neck move. @Buccaneers @NFL #football https://t.co/83DKDwq0Ew
— GoldenSam (@OfficialGSam) January 19, 2022
Bruce Arians keeps that energy expect to see him get hurt by one of these players https://t.co/PdEssyIKue
— nobodyhere (@nobodyhere23) January 19, 2022
Bruce arians is wild! Hitting a grown man in the head. Smh https://t.co/rCrsJOeIjp
— E-TRAYDE (@ETRAYDE) January 19, 2022
There is a large contingent of those who defend Brown on social media at any given opportunity.
This instance is a unique one because the receiver may be building a case against his former head coach.
Even if Arians successfully appeals the fine, the story is already out there and is a bad look for the veteran head coach.
Luckily for Arians, he still has Tom Brady as his quarterback.
Let's do this, if a player slapped Bruce Arians in the head because BA did something they didn't like, what would the punishment be? I'll hang up and listen.
— Coach Gene Clemons (@geneclemons) January 19, 2022
That prevents anything like this from derailing the team in any way.
Brady can keep the entire team focused and is not going to waste time talking about Brown or Arians during the preparation for a Divisional Round matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.
NEXT: Bruce Arians Receives A Unique NFL Fine