Sept. 16 (UPI) -- The lawyer of New England Patriots star Antonio Brown said the wide receiver denies a new accusation of sexual misconduct with an unnamed female artist who was working in his Pennsylvania home in 2017.
The allegations surfaced in a Sports Illustrated report Monday that detailed domestic incidents involving Brown, along with a charity auction theft and several unpaid debts.
"Antonio Brown has reviewed the sexual misconduct allegations made by an unnamed artist included in a recently published Sports Illustrated article and denies that he ever engaged in such activities," Brown's attorney, Darren Heitner, said in a statement. "There will be no further comment at this time."
According to Sports Illustrated, Brown hosted a charity softball game in Pittsburgh to benefit the National Youth Foundation, a Pennsylvania-based volunteer group of women that promotes inclusion and gender equality.
The event also held an artwork auction, where Brown agreed to purchase a portrait of himself before meeting and befriending the creator of the painting.
Brown invited the artist to come to his home and hired her to work on a mural of himself at his residence, according to Sports Illustrated. The unnamed artist told SI that Brown shared her work on social media, but on the second day at his house, things began to change.
According to Sports Illustrated, the artist "was in a kneeling position while painting and turned to find Brown behind her, naked, holding a small hand towel over his genitals." The artist said she stopped painting and "after that, it all ended abruptly."
Brown paid the artist $2,000 for her work, according to SI, and contact broke off between the two. He never paid the $700 for the original auction painting, according to the National Youth Foundation.
The Patriots pass-catcher is also being accused of sexual assault in three separate incidents, according to a civil lawsuit filed last week in the Southern District of Florida. The team said they are aware of the lawsuit and take the allegations "very seriously."
Brown denies the claims and is pursuing multiple legal options. The NFL is investigating the matter.
