Antonio Brown has always been known as the guy in the NFL that could jump higher, run faster, and cut quicker than all the rest. All the years he spent with the Pittsburg Steelers, he was looked upon as a fan favorite. The fans loved the many ways he could entertain on the field. Whether it be his incredible route running, to turning a 5 yard slant into an 80 yard touchdown without being touched. Another attribute that brought AB closer to the fans was the way he was able to interact/ entertain after each of his touchdowns. When an athlete is on top, as a fan, it is easy to fall in love with a player with these type of characteristics. Little did we know, Antonio Brown took one too many head shots from Vontaze Burfict.
Where do we start? Towards the end of AB’s time in Pittsburg, Ben Roethlisberger and Mike Tomlin became vocal about the dislike of his attitude along with other issues throughout the locker room. AB violated the league’s social media policy by recording a video of him celebrating in the locker room using inappropriate language which sparked the feud with Tomlin. Along with a dispute involving Roethlisberger, which triggered Brown to sit out the last game of the season with a potential playoff berth on the line. After these two butted heads with Brown, his time in Pittsburg had ran out as Mike Tomlin has no plan of going anywhere in the near future. The Steelers were so done with the situation, they traded away one of the best wide receivers of this decade for a third-round and fifth-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. Once AB arrived in Oakland, it didn’t take long for the Raider’s, along with the rest of the NFL fan base to understand the type of Looney Toon he is.
His short lived time in Oakland was still enough time for him to engrave his name into the crazy town hall of fame. It wasn’t long for his name to pop back up in the media as his first issue occurred in July. ESPN reported Brown was suffering from “sore feet” and couldn’t attend practice. Later that week, on July 26th, Brown showed up to Napa Valley, California, in a hot air balloon coining the phrase “float like a butterfly, sting like AB.” Four days later, Brown was treated for frostbite on his feet after he went through cryotherapy treatment without foot protection.
He later released a picture of his feet on July 30th, the same day he left Oakland and saw a foot specialist. While dealing with the frost bite, AB was sidelined from practice and in route to cause even more issues.
While AB sat back and looked for another issue to create, his new team and ownership was already getting very sick of his behavior. Bringing us to our next problem. The NFL made an announcement in 2017 regarding the ban of old helmets, giving each player a year grace period to find a new helmet that met the NFL’s requirements. Brown, knowing the situation, showed up to Raiders camp wearing the same outdated helmet after being told numerous times that he needed to find a new one. After altercations about his helmet, Brown stated that he would not play football again if he could not wear his old helmet.
The league later denied Antonio Browns request to continue wearing his outdated and unapproved helmet. Brown then turned to the fans offering a signed Raider’s practice helmet if someone could provide him with a suitable helmet.
On August 17th, Brown sent his new helmet through the NFL safety tests only to receive word that it had failed yet again. After being informed of his newest helmet’s failure to pass NFL tests, AB labeled the league as being “super prejudice” and took to social media (as he always does) in hopes to expose league officials.
Raider’s General Manager, Mike Mayock, gave Brown his final decision of either being “all in or all out” as they looked to move on with the season and the helmet dilemma. Mayock made it very clear that the Raider’s did everything they could to get AB situated and back on the field, but its up to him to make a decision.
Antonio eventually came to sign an endorsement deal with Xenith, providing him with a Xenith Shadow helmet for the 2019 season. A helmet that was only worn for one game against the Miami Dolphins during week two.
The Raider’s then issued two fines to Brown on September 4th, for a combined amount of $53,950 due. AB then took to social media again, posting the letter he received in the mail regarding his fines on his instagram story. Claiming that his own team wants to hate on him for breaking team rules and violating league policies.
September 5th marks the day that put the stake in the coffin for Brtown’s stay in Oakland. Reportedly, Mayock and Brown were in a face to face altercation regarding the fine letter that he was sent. Coincidental enough, Vontaze Burfict was the one holding Brown back from Mayock. Tensions rose throughout the meeting and NFL Network reported that Brown threatened to hit his GM, Mike Mayock, and as he walked out, AB punted a football saying “fine me for that.”
After Brown was fined a couple more time by the Raider’s involving violation of team rules, they decided to void his 30 million dollars in guaranteed money. Brown then requested a release from the Oakland Raider’s before he could even play one snap in the black and silver.
It didn’t take long for the Raider’s to respond to his release request as he was granted it on September 7th, a day after he requested it. The video below shows the excitement from Antonio Brown after getting news that he is now “free.” from the Oakland Raiders.
Once leaving the Raider’s, the New England Patriots decided to roll the dice on AB by signing him to a one year deal. He played week two with the Pats as they went on to destroy the Miami Dolphins 43-0. Brown caught a touchdown pass from Tom Brady in the win, which may have turned out to be the last pass he ever catches again in the NFL.
Brown was later accused of three incidents of sexual assault that occurred in 2017, and 2018 involving a woman who was reportedly his trainer that he used to attend school with. This forced the Patriots to release him off the team and Brown was yet again, team-less and out of the NFL entirely.
Antonio Brown is a name that pops up frequently throughout the media, maybe more than we would like to see. He has made a career for himself in the NFL, but it also could be the reason for his downfall. Brown never behaved like this until his final year in Pittsburg. Seeing the amount of blows he has taken to the head, it really makes you wonder if he has started to show early signs of CTE or another type of head injury that drives him to act out among the rest no matter what type of publicity it attracts. Maybe he enjoys being the center of the spotlight no matter the circumstance and realized being the villain is the only way to keep his name at the top of the internet.
Beyond The Banks 