Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown reacts courtside after the Miami Heat defeated Detroit 105-98 after four quarters of an NBA game at FTX Arena in Downtown Miami, Florida, on Tuesday, March 15, 2022. Brown is facing an attempted murder charge after a shooting outside a Miami boxing event in 2025.
Daniel A. Varela
dvarela@miamiherald.com
Ex-NFL star Antonio Brown — accused of shooting at a man during a scuffle outside a Miami boxing event — will face a jury next year, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez set Brown’s trial for Jan. 11, 2027. The judge also scheduled a hearing on Brown’s Stand Your Ground claims for June 23, according to court records.
Florida’s Stand Your Ground law allows a person in the state to take up to deadly action if they feel their life is threatened. Brown, 37, has said he was defending himself when the shooting occurred outside a warehouse at 221 NE 67th St., where the boxing event was held.
“The actions he was forced to take were solely in self-defense against the alleged victim’s violent behavior,” Brown’s attorney Mark Eiglarsh previously said. “Brown was attacked that night and acted within his legal right to protect himself.”
Ex-NFL star Antonio Brown was extradited from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to face trial for an attempted murder stemming from shooting in May outside a Miami boxing event, Miami police say. Miami-Dade Jail
Last November, Brown was extradited from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates to Miami in connection with the May 16, 2025, shooting. The former All-Pro wide receiver, who was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2022 following his mid-game walkout, was wanted on an attempted murder charge stemming from a dispute at the boxing event hosted by influencer Adin Ross.
Despite prosecutors claiming that the Miami-born Brown was a flight risk, Brown was granted a $25,000 bond. Since posting bail, he has been on a low-level house arrest, which allows him to work while wearing an ankle monitor.
Gunfire outside boxing match
Outside the boxing venue in Little Haiti, Brown allegedly punched Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu during a scuffle. Detectives interviewed Nantambu, who said he tried to leave after Brown attacked him. But Brown, he asserted, chased him with a gun and fired at him — possibly grazing his neck.
Video of the incident showed Brown appearing to hold a gun and running out of frame. Seconds later, gunshots were heard.
At the scene, Brown, according to his arrest warrant, was detained and searched. No firearm was found on him, although police found two spent shell casings and a damaged right-handed holster outside the venue.
He was released because the man shot, later identified as Nantambu, was no longer at the venue.
READ MORE: Antonio Brown’s false accusations put Miami jeweler in Dubai jail for month: lawsuit
Brown and Nantambu had a history, court records show.
Three years ago, Brown falsely accused Nantambu, who designs and sells jewelry, of stealing $3 million in jewelry from him, the documents say. The man spent a month in a Middle Eastern jail before proving that Brown lied.
Antonio Brown appears for his bond hearing via Zoom requesting bail after he filed a written plea of “not guilty” to the attempted murder charge in Bond Court (Courtroom 1-5) with Judge Mindy S. Glazer presiding at the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, in Miami, Florida. Carl Juste cjuste@miamiherald.com
Miami Herald
Grethel covers courts and the criminal justice system for the Miami Herald. She graduated from the University of Florida (Go Gators!), speaks Spanish and Arabic and loves animals, traveling, basketball and good storytelling. Grethel also attends law school part time.