Antonio Brown
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A former teammate had some interesting comments about Antonio Brown.
Antonio Brown, who was named a first-team All-Pro four times and a Pro Bowler seven times in his 12 year NFL career, was without a doubt one of the greatest wide receivers of all time. He was also one of the strangest, most outrageous and controversial personalities ever to play in the league.
Some of Brown’s controversies have been weird but essentially harmless, such as the bizarre end to his career when he stripped off his pads and Tampa Bay Buccaneers jersey on the sidelines during a game against the New York Jets in 2022 and stormed off the field.
Some have been malignant. In 2019 he was accused of rape and sexual assault in a civil lawsuit.
Now, Brown stands accused of attempted murder, in relation to an incident outside a Miami venue where the now 36-year-old was attending a “celebrity” boxing event hosted by Adin Ross, a popular YouTube personality.
Brown Arrived to Raiders With High Expectations
What has been clear throughout Brown’s career both on and off the football field is that he’s never dull, as one former teammate — albeit one who was a teammate only briefly — revealed in an interview earlier this week.
The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted Brown in the sixth round out of Central Michigan in 2010. But after nine seasons in which he led the NFL in receiving yards twice and failed to break the 1,000-yard barrier only two times, the Steelers traded him to the then-Oakland Raiders for a third round draft pick and a fifth-rounder.
He arrived in Oakland with high expectations, signing a three-year, $30.125 million extension and declaring, “I bring accountability.”
But when training camp opened in late July, Brown showed up with frostbite on his feet. Apparently, he had undergone a cryotherapy treatment in France, and failed to wear protective footwear. The day after he arrived with his frostbitten feet, Brown showed up at camp in a hot air balloon. The Raiders then put him on the non-football injury list.
Crosby as a Rookie Found Brown ‘Like Reality TV’
There was a rookie in that 2019 camp named Maxx Crosby, a linebacker who has since gone on to four Pro Bowls and two All Pro teams himself, leading the league in tackles for loss in both 2022 and 2023.
In an online conversation with former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel, Crosby had a few things to say about his short time as rookie watching Brown in disbelief, in that 2019 training camp, before Brown was released by the Raiders without playing a game.
“It didn’t seem real but it was like I knew nothing else and at the time I’m just trying to figure it the f*** out,” Crosby said. “It was a crazy experience, I mean, Antonio Brown, that dude, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“It was like reality TV, bro. I think AB was the biggest culprit from the feet getting burned off to the hot air balloon going into camp, like this is not real. This is like Blitz the League type s**t,” he added, referring to the ultra-violent football video game.
One day, Crosby recalled, while his teammates were in the middle of an intense practice session, he saw Brown on the sidelines surrounded by his family.
“He had his whole family, we’re in training camp, in team period, and he has his shoulders off on the sidelines playing catch with his kids on the other field. I’m like, is this normal?” Crosby recalled.
After several conflicts with Raiders management, in which he was repeatedly fined and suspended for “conduct detrimental to the team,” Brown demanded his release from the Raiders, who quickly accommodated him.