An ex-chef for NFL star Antonio Brown claims he has a fake COVID card.
NBC Sports is reporting that the Bucs receiver — who is “long overdue to do something stupid” — disclosed his unvaxxed status to Steven Ruiz, the ex-chef in question. Ruiz claims that Antonio Brown looked for — and ultimately secured — the bogus card in question.
“Ruiz has text messages from early July that purport to reflect an effort by Brown through his girlfriend, Cydney Moreau, to secure fake vaccination cards for $500,” reports the outlet. “Ruiz said he wasn’t able to find a fake vaccination card, and that Brown showed Ruiz fake vaccination cards Brown had purchased a few weeks later. Ruiz claims he saw the fake vaccination cards just days before the start of Buccaneers training camp.”
Now, it bears noting that Antonio Brown tested positive for COVID during the season, and was out for 10 days total due to his diagnosis.
However, it’s also worth noting that Ruiz currently has a suit against Brown, in the amount of $10,000. Ruiz also hired a famed “Hollywood fixer” to get the money for him “in exchange for keeping quiet,” reports the outlet.
So, it’s very likely that this is all an extortion attempt by the former chef for Antonio Brown to get some money, and not a legitimate complaint. Or, it could be a legitimate complaint. Or, it could be both. Two things can be true at the same time, for sure.
Either way, it’s extremely messy.