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NFL star Antonio Brown 'not a Nike athlete', says company

NFL: New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins

(Reuters) - Nike Inc said on Thursday it had cut ties with New England Patriots player Antonio Brown, who has denied allegations by his former personal trainer of rape and sexual assault.

"Antonio Brown is not a Nike athlete," the company said in an e-mailed statement. However, Brown's Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers jerseys were for sale on the Nike web site on Thursday morning.

When asked for more details on the nature or duration of the partnership between the company and the athlete, Nike said "We don't get into specifics of sports marketing relationships". The company did not immediately reply to Reuters' questions on the sale of Brown's jersey on its website.

The Patriots and Brown did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on social media.

Britney Taylor, Brown's former personal trainer, said that he sexually assaulted her on three separate occasions, once in Pittsburgh, where the wide receiver played for the Steelers for nine seasons, and twice in Florida.

The athlete, who is about to start his 10th National Football League season after orchestrating a last-minute move to the Patriots from the Pittsburgh Steelers, has denied all of the accusations through his lawyer, claiming the two had consensual sex.

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)