Antonio Brown pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder charges.
His attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, said on Monday that the former Pittsburgh Steelers star was attacked first and acted within his legal rights to protect himself.
“The actions he was forced to take were solely in self-defense against the alleged victim’s violent behavior,” Eiglarsh said, via TMZ.
“Brown was attacked that night and acted within his legal right to protect himself from an individual who had previously committed criminal acts against him. It’s a privilege to represent him, and I am determined to ensure that justice is served.”
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The defense may use Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, which allows people to use force if they feel they’re in serious danger.
Brown’s case is about a shooting incident that happened on May 16 outside a celebrity boxing match in Miami. He reportedly got into a fight with a man named Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu. Brown allegedly fired two shots from a gun he took from a security guard. One bullet reportedly grazed Nantambu’s neck.
Miami-Dade County issued a warrant for Brown’s arrest on June 11. He was arrested in Dubai and brought back to the U.S. on Thursday after more than a four-month manhunt.
Brown is in jail in Newark, New Jersey, waiting to be sent to Florida, according to Essex County Prosecutor’s Office spokeswoman Carmen Martin.
Brown has also referenced chronic traumatic encephalopathy as a factor in his behavior.
Antonio Brown’s alleged victim Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu went viral during 2025 Super Bowl halftime show
Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, the man Antonio Brown allegedly shot, made headlines for waving a Palestinian flag during Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show. Nantambu was one of the background performers on Feb. 9 at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
He climbed onto a car prop and waved both the Palestinian and Sudanese flags during the performance.
The act was not part of the choreography and was cut from the live broadcast.Nantambu was arrested in Louisiana and charged with “disturbing the peace by interruption of a lawful assembly.” He voluntarily surrendered through his attorney after a warrant was issued.