Thursday, October 03, 2019
The Antonio Brown Saga
Antonio Brown
I was going
to write that there never has been such a turbulent start to a season
of any professional sports figure. There have been some pretty wild
situations, but none compared to this.
Antonio
Brown is no longer affiliated with any team in the National Football
League. The wide receiver, once considered the premier player in that
position, is out of work. He recently played for the New England
Patriots, and even scored a touchdown. But he was cut from the roster
on September 20th. He may have run out of chances to play
for any team.
Now 31 years
old, he was born in Miami. He comes by his football talent honestly,
as his father was once named, “The best player in the history of
the Arena Football League”. Antonio played his high school football
in Miami, then chose to play “Prep” Football at North Carolina
Tech. He earned a scholarship to play at Florida International
University, but was expelled before the season started, because of an
“altercation with security”.
He then
played at Central Michigan, and was drafted in the 6th
round in 2010 by the Pittsburgh Steelers. By no means large for a
football player, at less than six feet, he began working his way up
the ladder to secure a spot in the starting lineup as a receiver. In
2010, he ran back punts and kickoffs. The next year, he moved up to
become the third wide receiver on the team. He became the first
player in NFL history to have 1000 yards receiving, and returning
kicks.
In 2012, he
signed a contract for $42,5 million, including an $8.5 million bonus.
It was reported that he had a chip on his shoulder, even with his
teammates. On one occasion he told them: “Don't touch me. I'm the
franchise!” He played with the Steelers the next few years, and
always gained “Pro Bowl” status each year. He had his wrist
slapped by the league for wearing improper shoes ($15 000 fine), then
he was nicked for another $24 000 for displaying a sexually
suggestive dance after a score. Can you imagine?
Even
FaceBook got in on the action, paying him $ 244 000 to “create
content for live channels”.
In 2017, the
Steelers signed him to another lucrative contract, $17 million over
five years. Near the end of the 2018 season, Brown and quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger aired their differences, and Brown demanded a
trade. He was traded to the Raiders to play this year.
He was
unhappy with the new helmets that the players were required to wear.
He got frost bite in California. (In one of those cryotherapy
studios!). He missed several practices. The Raiders bid adieu.
On September
7, he signed a one year contract with the New England Patriots for
$15 million with a $9 million signing bonus. He did play one game for
the Pats, even scored a touchdown. But two weeks after signing with
the team, he was shown the door. I guess he did not wish to play “The
Patriots' Way”!
His career
has been marred by several allegations of domestic disputes, sexual
misconduct, improper texting. He may have played his last NFL game.
One of the
experts on a Sunday telecast indicated that there were three teams
looking into the possibility of signing Brown. Some things never
cease to amaze me.
James Hurst
September
23, 2019.
# posted by James Hurst @ 1:28 PM 
