Monday, January 03, 2022
Brown is “no longer a Buc”
Brady’s buddy is freaking out again
By Till Erdenberger
Antonio Brown regularly adds new chapters to his wild biography. The football professional always causes trouble, now he has to look for a new club again. His buddy Tom Brady won’t be able to help either.
Bruce Arians has already seen a lot in his long life in the NFL: The head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will be 70 this year, he has been part of the league since 1989, he won the Super Bowl twice as assistant coach, and finally as head coach in 2021 . But something like on Sunday evening, no, “I haven’t seen anything like that in all these years”. What the veteran was talking to Fox Sport about was the next chapter in the Antonio Brown scandalous file. When it comes to Arians, it was the last word he said about his second most prominent player, alongside quarterback legend Tom Brady. “I don’t talk about him anymore. He’s no longer Buc.”
What happened? Brown, one of the most scandalous players in league history, but one of the best pass recipients ever, frustrated tore his jersey and protective equipment off his body in the third quarter of the defending champion’s game against the New York Jets, threw parts of it into the audience and left the field. Then he ran half-naked through the end zone while both teams were on the field and waved to the fans on the way to the locker room, as if he were on a triumphal procession and not on the way to the next scandal.
The police don’t help either
The situation was so incredible that stadium security initially thought the multi-million dollar wide receiver would be a speedster. One of the security guards told ESPN that when Brown left, he asked a police officer if he could drive him to the airport. The officer said no after Brown changed, but apparently found another lift. In any case, he did not fly back to Florida with the team, reports ESPN.
What triggered the freak, at the time it was 10:24 from the champion’s point of view, left Arians puzzled. Twice he asked him to go on the field, said the coach Fox Sports, twice his player refused. Then there was a scandal. Whether Brown’s ankle could have played a role in his refusal to play – he was officially in doubt for the game due to the injury – Arians said: “No.”
Superstar Tom Brady, who personally made sure that Brown got a contract with the Bucs and who let his teammate live with him, led his team to a 28:24 victory a few seconds before the end – and had the whole thing Initially, the extent of the mess did not even notice. It was a “difficult situation” for his friend, said the quarterback, who was only informed about the implications of the incident after the game. “Everyone should do what they can to help him in the way he really needs. We all love him. He is very important to us. We want him to be at his best,” Brady said, adding that he will continue his friendship with Brown and encourage those around him to help him.
Antonio Brown is a constant headline producer, the latest scandal is just another in a long list: In December 2018 he was internally banned by the Pittsburgh Steelers because he allegedly attacked a teammate in training, and in the same year he was said to have furniture from a hotel window thrown and almost met a 22-month-old child and his grandfather. In August 2019, Brown missed pre-season because he refused to play with a new rules matched helmet. On Instagram, he asks the Oakland Raiders to be fired – and the club complies. He signed a mega-contract with Brady’s New England Patriots in early September 2019, and was released two weeks later after allegations of sexual abuse were brought against him. He missed parts of the 2020 season because of an eight-game ban, which he received due to “numerous misconducts” against the league’s code of conduct. Brown has since been charged with multiple sexual harassment charges, including domestic violence and traffic offenses.
“Everything with him is a fight”
In the 2020 season, when Brown was once again without a contract, Brady had pushed for the short-term teammate from the Patriots to join his new team. From a sporting point of view, there were good reasons for this: In 2017, the “Bleacher Report” saw Brown as the “most exciting receiver” in the league, and its statistics with almost 12,000 yards of space gained are impressive. And the 33-year-old also delivered, in the Super Bowl triumph in February, he caught five passes, one of them for a touchdown.
But then, with a little delay, things started that had been expected earlier: The US broadcaster CBS Sports had quoted an unnamed source when Brown took up the job, who is said to have a lot of experience with the wide receiver: “I give him ten days until he’s late for a Covid test or doesn’t even follow the protocol. You can’t imagine the stories you could unpack about this guy. Everything with him is a struggle. “
Brown had only returned to the Bucs last week after being banned from the NFL for three games for presenting a fake vaccination certificate. He caught 10 passes for 101 receiving yards and accused the media of causing “drama”. Running back Le’Veon Bell, who has just signed with the Bucs and was Brown’s teammate with the Pittsburgh Steelers, wishes his “close friend the best outside of football or whatever next for him.” Brown was “a good person overall. Sometimes he made bad decisions, but he is a person, not perfect.” Brown made no comment on his departure that night.