Alleged victim 'forgives' Antonio Brown, won't take part in prosecution

The alleged victim in Antonio Brown's second-degree attempted murder case in Miami "does not wish to participate" in the former NFL star's prosecution, according to a statement from his lawyer on Wednesday. Brown's attorney said he hoped the state of Florida drops the case, saying Brown was innocent from the beginning. The incident involved gunfire outside an amateur boxing match in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood in May 2025. Brown, 37, spent nearly six months in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he traveled after the incident, before being extradited by U.S. marshals. Shortly after he arrived in Miami in November, he pleaded not guilty and was arraigned. In December 2025, Brown filed a motion to dismiss based on Florida's "stand your ground" law. The alleged victim, Zul-Qarnain Kwame Nantambu, "has made the deeply personal decision to forgive Antonio Brown for the events that occurred in Miami in May 2025," Nantambu's lawyer, Richard L. Cooper, stated on his client's behalf. "For Mr. Nantambu, forgiveness does not diminish the seriousness of what occurred," Cooper said. "It means refusing to allow anger or resentment to dictate how he moves forward." As Brown's lawyer, Mark Eiglarsh, responded Wednesday, "We remain hopeful that the court will grant that motion [to dismiss] and bring this prosecution to an end." Brown would face up to 30 years in prison if convicted, with a mandatory minimum of 20 years under Florida law. Eiglarsh told ESPN he did not expect the state to immediately drop the charges. He said efforts to schedule a stand your ground hearing were hindered by delays in arranging depositions from key witnesses. Nantambu's statement indicated he is a devout Muslim whose faith contributed to his decision to forgive Brown, expressing "his desire to move forward in peace." "Antonio would like to make his own position equally clear: He forgives Mr. Nantambu," Eiglarsh said. "Antonio wishes Mr. Nantambu and his family peace and holds no hatred or resentment toward him. "From the very beginning, Mr. Brown has maintained his innocence. He did not commit attempted second-degree murder, and he maintains that, under the circumstances presented that day, he had a lawful right to defend himself." In the May 2025 incident, according to the stand your ground motion, Brown was trying to get to his car for safety after Nantambu had attacked him. But police said Brown punched Nantambu in the face and, along with two others, continued the attack. Nantambu walked away, according to a police description of the security footage. Brown then "chases him down with a gun and shoots at him at point blank range," according to a prosecutor. Police added that video from social media showed Brown with a gun in his hand near Nantambu. Two gunshots followed. Nantambu ducked after the first shot was heard, police said. The stand your ground motion, which acknowledged Brown as the shooter, said he "reasonably feared" Nantambu was armed. It also said Nantambu made an "aggressive movement" toward Brown. "In that moment, Brown again reasonably feared death or great bodily harm," the motion read. Brown then fired two "warning shots, intentionally aiming away from Nantambu to ensure he would not be struck," the motion asserted. Brown also said Nantambu took the weapon after a struggle and left with it. After he returned to Miami, Brown was released on $25,000 bail and placed on house arrest with a GPS ankle monitor. Brown, who spent 12 years in the NFL, was an All-Pro wide receiver who last played in 2021 for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but spent most of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers.