Steelers' Brown: Lawsuits contain 'false claims'

Pittsburgh Steelers star wide receiver Antonio Brown said Thursday that claims made against him in two lawsuits he's facing from an alleged incident in April are false. Brown is accused of yelling at security and throwing items from off the balcony of a South Florida apartment. The lawsuits are for "damages in excess of $15,000," according to ESPN. Brown was not charged following the incident, according to police. "It has now been made public that two lawsuits containing false claims have been filed against me," Brown told reporters Thursday. "The facts will soon come out that prove my innocence. My focus will remain on football, and I will not let the cases serve as a distraction." NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told ESPN the league is closely monitoring the situation. The league is not expected to launch a personal-conduct investigation into Brown, according to ESPN. A Steelers spokesman said Tuesday the organization won't comment on the situation. One of the lawsuits against Brown, 30, was filed by Ophir Sternberg, who alleges that his 22-month-old boy was emotionally traumatized after several of the items thrown during the alleged incident landed near the boy and his grandfather at the pool at The Mansions at Acqualina in Sunny Isle Beach, Fla. The child was "severely traumatized by the incident, crying for hours on end the day it occurred and was unable to sleep that night," the lawsuit alleges, adding, "The falling objects included two very large vases, estimated to be over three feet each, as well as a large, heavy ottoman and other pieces of furniture." Brown is filing a motion to dismiss the complaint this week, according to ESPN. Brown is also being sued by the unit's landlord for damages and breaching the apartment agreement. "The apartment was in shambles," George A. Minski, the lawyer representing the condo owner, said, according to ESPN. "Mirrors were smashed, tables were destroyed, there were holes and damages to the walls. Countertops were lifted off the deck. The unit is furnished with leather couches and love seats, and there were burn holes and black magic markers. It looked like they had rumbled. We tried to resolve it amicably and it got nowhere so we filed a lawsuit." Brown has until Oct. 23 to respond to that lawsuit. Either suit can be settled at any time. --Field Level Media