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Steelers' Antonio Brown pushed woman to ground, police incident report says

Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown allegedly pushed the mother of his daughter to the ground on Jan. 17 in Hollywood, Florida, according to a police incident report obtained by ESPN.

The Hollywood Police Department on Tuesday acknowledged that Brown was involved in a domestic dispute last month, but has said it does not have further details and won't be commenting until it does. Brown was not arrested.

The case is not in the police department's database. When reached Wednesday, the records department said the case is still under review.

The incident allegedly took place when the woman dropped off Brown's daughter at his residence and asked to be reimbursed for the child's hair appointment. According to the incident report, the woman positioned herself so Brown could not close his front door and Brown told her she needed to leave his residence. According to the woman, Brown then used both hands to push her to the ground.

The woman told police that her wrist was injured in the fall. Police said that she showed them "an abrasion with some scabbing."

The woman refused to complete a victim affidavit, according to police. Officers told the woman they could pursue an arrest of Brown for battery if they find probable cause and the state attorney's office files charges, according to the report. The woman got upset with the officers and stated she did not want Brown arrested and instead wanted to "cancel" her report.

The NFL has confirmed that it is looking into the incident.

Brown's lawyer, Darren Heitner, said in a statement Wednesday that "the closed police report proves that Antonio Brown did absolutely nothing wrong." He also said Brown would be seeking full custody of his daughter because of the incident.

"Unfortunately, the media alluded wrongdoing on the part of my client in a 'domestic dispute' when in fact no wrongdoing ever occurred on his part. The complainant, who is the mother of Mr. Brown's child, acknowledged that she refused to leave Mr. Brown's property after being asked and further refused to leave the doorway of his personal residence. The complainant did not want to provide a statement or press charges, and asked to retract her report after it was made," Heitner said.

"The media must be held to a higher standard and should issue an apology to my client for harming his reputation without cause and without full report in their possession. Additionally, the complainant unnecessarily involved my client's minor child in her false reporting, causing irreparable harm to a minor child. Therefore, Antonio Brown's family law attorney, Jaclyn Soroka, Esq. will be filing an action with the Court today seeking full legal custody of his child accordingly."

Brown has five children -- four sons and one daughter.

This is Brown's second recent legal issue in South Florida, where he was born and raised.

In October, he faced two lawsuits from an April incident during which Brown allegedly yelled at security and threw items off an apartment balcony, according to documents obtained by ESPN.

A guardian of a 2-year-old boy is suing Brown for "intentional infliction of emotional distress and assault" after items flung from the 14th floor of the Mansions at Acqualina nearly hit the child, according to Miami-Dade County court filings.

Those cases are in the process of being resolved.

On the morning of Nov. 8, Brown was cited for driving over 100 mph in Ross Township, Pennsylvania. That evening, after the Steelers' Week 10 victory over the Carolina Panthers, Brown declined comment when approached by ESPN, then told teammates that reporters couldn't catch him as he walked out of the locker room. Before the season, Brown publicly threatened an ESPN writer over a story examining the intersection of Brown's media stardom with his off-field life.

Brown, 30, has been one of the NFL's most productive players, with a league-record six consecutive 100-catch seasons. However, the Steelers are considering trading him after he failed to show up to work the day before the season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Earlier that week, Brown was involved in a heated dispute at practice; according to multiple reports, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was involved in that incident.

Team president Art Rooney II told reporters last month that something changed with Brown the last week of the season and he wasn't sure why. He had reached out to Brown to no avail. Agent Drew Rosenhaus told ESPN on Jan. 25 he has spoken to the Steelers to express Brown's "position" but wouldn't divulge details.

"There aren't many signs out there that [returning] is going to happen," Rooney II said. "But like I said before: We haven't made any decisions, and we are going to take our time."