Fans who arrive early at Lincoln Financial Field for Saturday’s NFL preseason game between the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles might note a barefoot, shirtless man walking the field carrying a staff, or as Cleveland cornerback Tony Brown calls it, a bamboo scepter. And it seems to have had a profound effect on the former Alabama defensive back.
“I carry this with pride and with honor as it connects me to something greater than myself,” Brown said during an appearance on NFL Network. “I continue to walk with this to empower others, and I want people to rise right with me. That’s what this term Ap3x is for -- at the top. So, like, I definitely will continue to empower others with my word and, you know, help people shine light by being my authentic self by carrying the staff.”
Brown got the staff on a trip to assist with teammate Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah’s annual football camp in Ghana, the native country of the linebacker’s father. While there, Brown toured sites in Cape Coast linked to the transatlantic slave trade during the 17th through 19th centuries.
“I’m going through this tour in this dungeon castle, learning about how the slaves were held, learning about the death dungeon,” Brown said. “(Owusu-Koramoah) explained to me, ‘Hey, Tony, you can try to qualm your emotions by speaking with the ancestors,’ like trying to have a conversation with them. As we’re walking through this dungeon and castle, he picked up some rocks and dust off the ground and put it in my hand.
“It’s a bit of a culture shock, being that I’m from Texas. And as we traversed the last 30 minutes of the tour, I ended up just saying these words and dialogue: ‘If you’re there, ancestors, I would ask that you grant me the wisdom, the guidance and the strength in order to transmute this anger,’ which is just an energy that I felt in my chest, ‘into something that I can use to be functional, that I can make you proud.’ So I asked for wisdom, guidance and strength.
“So as we left out of the dungeon castle, it is along the shores of the Cape Coast. I walked out into the water to kind of clear my mind. As I walked into the water, the shores of the water, the staff, scepter, it washed ashore to my feet. And initially, when I picked it up, it hit my ankles. I picked it up. I was like, ‘Yo.’ I looked at it. I’m looking at it. I’m like, ‘Yo, this is a pretty cool thing that just washed up to my feet.’ And Jeremiah was maybe 10, 15 feet behind me, and Sekou was also. So they also visually saw this happen. And I turned around, like I just caught a fish, you know, like a little fish.
“And they look at me kind of like in awe a little bit. And as I walked towards Sekou and Jeremiah, and we’re also traveling with chieftains and chiefs with us from Ghanaian chiefs, they all impart their wisdom on what this means in their tribe. And every person that imparted the wisdom kind of like helped me understand the meaning behind attaining this in the way that I did.”
Brown expounded on his concept of Ap3x in a guest column on Matt Lombardo’s website.
“In the name Ap3x, the ‘3x’ is not for aesthetics, it’s sacred,” Brown wrote. “It symbolizes mind, body and spirit in full alignment. It also stands for past, present and future, all of which I carry with me. And ‘apex’ means the highest point. The apex predator, the one who is not preyed upon. That’s the mindset I move with. …
“I have shed who I was and stepped into who I was born to be. This name isn’t an alias. It’s an arrival. So call me what I’ve earned. Call me The Ap3x, because that’s who I am. And from here forward, that’s who I walk as.
“For anyone out there evolving: You don’t owe the world comfort. You owe yourself truth. Become the version of you that scares people. That’s the version that’s free.”
Brown is seeking to stick with Cleveland to continue an NFL career that began as an undrafted rookie in 2018. He has persevered to appear on the rosters of six NFL franchises and play in regular-season games with four.
Brown re-signed with Cleveland after becoming an unrestricted free agent in March.
The cornerback had spent the first five weeks of the 2024 season on the Browns’ practice squad. Brown still played in three games as a practice-squad elevation. Because practice-squad players are limited to three elevations per season, Cleveland signed Brown to its 53-man active roster on Oct. 10 to keep him playing. Brown played in three more games before he went on injured reserve on Oct. 29 because of a foot injury. He missed the remainder of the season.
Brown was on the field for 136 special-teams plays in 2024. On his first play of the season for Cleveland, Brown caused a fumble on the opening kickoff against the New York Giants on Sept. 22.
In 67 NFL games, Brown has been on the field for 494 defensive snaps and 1,193 special-teams plays.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at@AMarkG1.
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