Antonio Brown claims the Tampa Bay Buccaneers forced him to play on an injured ankle that will require surgery, which is why he exited so abruptly on Sunday afternoon.

An MRI on Monday revealed broken bone fragments, a ligament torn from the bone and cartilage loss, the wide receiver said in a lengthy statement released Wednesday night.

Brown also accused the Buccaneers of mischaracterizing his outburst on the field as a "mental health issue," rather than a refusal to play due to pain.

The Buccaneers did not have any immediate comment to Brown's statement when reached later Wednesday night.

The team still has yet to formally release Brown.