Former NFL star Antonio Brown has pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempted murder stemming from a shooting in Miami in May.
Brown's lawyer, Mark Eiglarsh, said he had filed the plea on Brown's behalf and that his client could be in a Miami courtroom as early as Wednesday for a bail hearing.
Brown was arrested in Dubai last week and flown to New Jersey with jail records in Essex County showing he was released on Tuesday for the transfer to Florida.
According to an arrest warrant, Brown is accused of grabbing a handgun from a security staffer after a celebrity boxing match on May 16 and firing two shots at a man he had gotten into a fistfight with earlier.
The victim, Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, told investigators that one of the bullets grazed his neck.
Eiglarsh insisted Brown was protecting himself from a person he had problems with before, saying: "The actions he was forced to take were solely in self-defence against the alleged victim's violent behaviour. Brown was attacked that night and acted within his legal right to protect himself."
Brown was not immediately arrested that night because initially police did not identify Nantambu as a victim.
It was not until May 21 that Nantambu gave a full statement about the incident to police and identified Brown as the shooter, the affidavit says.
A second-degree attempted murder charge in Florida carries a maximum 15-year prison sentence and up to a $10,000 fine in the event of a conviction.
Brown, who spent 12 years in the NFL, was an All-Pro wide receiver who last played in 2021 for Tampa Bay but spent most of his career with Pittsburgh.
For his career, Brown had 928 receptions for more than 12,000 yards and scored 88 total touchdowns counting returns and one pass.
Brown has dealt with several legal problems over the years. He previously had been accused of battery of a moving-truck driver, several domestic violence charges, failure to pay child support and other incidents.
During a 2021 game with Tampa Bay against the New York Jets, Brown took off his jersey, shoulder pads and gloves and ran off the field, leading to his release by the Buccaneers and effectively ending his football career.
