- Highlight
- #1
This is a thread for all the weird pro and collegiate athletes out there whose behavior is cow-like while not actually being cows.
Keep politispergery out of this thread. We will fucking threadban you if you shit up the thread with this.
Mod edit: Below was the original post about Antonio Brown.
-----------------
Introduction
"Icarus soared into the sky, but in the process, he came too close to the sun, which due to the heat melted the wax. Icarus kept flapping his wings but soon realized that he had no feathers left and that he was only flapping his bare arms, and so Icarus fell into the sea and drowned."
"Who is this random sportsball guy? Why should I give a shit?"
Antonio Brown is, in my humble opinion, the single biggest waste of talent, ever. His (ongoing) story is a cautionary tale of what happens when the man upstairs blesses someone with the ability to change their life for the better, yet hubris and ego cause them to squander these gifts.
Raised in the poverty stricken neighborhood of Liberty City, in Miami, Florida, Brown sought sports as a way out of his situation as an adolescent. He excelled in both track & field and football, and was recruited by college football powerhouses like Florida State, but had his admission refused over academic concerns.
This led to him walking-on at Central Michigan, a much less prestigious but still viable school for football. I won't bore the non-football fans here with his stats in college, but he stayed fairly under the radar, and this led him to being drafted in the sixth round, with the 195th pick in the NFL draft, by one of the most prestigious teams in professional football, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Now, to get in the mind of Mr. Brown, he thinks very, VERY highly of himself, and if I were to guess, used being passed up on by both major colleges and teams in earlier rounds of the draft as motivation, to prove everyone wrong.
And you know what?
He fucking did.
Over time, Antonio Brown became the best wide receiver in the NFL. Like, I don't know if in the period from 2014-2017 if there was even another receiver who could hold a candle to him, that's how amazingly talented he was. And he was well compensated for it, his last contract for the Steelers paid him $19 million, making him at the time the highest paid wide receiver in the sport.
Life changing money, something us sports fans could only dream about making. Not only was Brown set for life, he had the ability to give his mom a better home, his children a perfect environment to be raised in, that he didn't get. And that's why his story is so frustrating, because of how deep, and depressing the rabbit hole gets...
Part 1: Icarus Flies High
I think the best place to begin with Antonio Brown's odd antics, is when in early 2017 after beating the Chiefs in a playoff game, Brown decided to film the locker room afterwards. Now, in sports, their are few places as revered as the locker room. It's one of the scant spaces that athletes can truly have privacy, and breaking that trust between your fellow players is a big no-no., especially when it you do it while your coach is speaking, and you also catch him calling the team you're about to play "assholes"", and broadcast that out to thousands of people live.
Ultimately, Brown would apologize to both head coach Mike Tomlin, and the Steelers organization, but this was only beginning of his increasingly bizarre behavior.
All would be fairly quiet with both Brown, and the Steelers, but in December, 2018, in a game against the New Orleans Saints, when the Steelers are battling to make the playoffs, Brown was dissatisfied, and moody with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, believing he wasn't getting enough catches, even though at this point in time it's late in the year, and he should be focused and wanting to make the playoffs so the Steelers could get to a Super Bowl, Brown was instead worried about his stats.
It got so bad thatduring practice, Brown chucked a ball at the QB, then decided to not practice the rest of the week. He was then benched the last week of the season, although officially, the Steelers would say it was because of injury. It wouldn't come out until early last year that the team had been enabling this kind of behavior, and eventually got tired of Antonio's shit.
Even though the Steelers and Brown seemed to part ways amicably, his ego seemed to be larger than ever, telling ESPN in an interview "I don't even need the game. I don't need to prove nothing to anyone. If they wanna play, they going to play by my rules. If not, I don't need to play. " Even though playing a game as a job is a privilege, not a right, and one most people with any sort of athletic ability would give an arm and a leg to be in his position for, to Antonio, it was a privilege for the NFL to have him, not the other way around.
This type of behavior isn't entirely uncommon among players at Brown's position. In fact, there's a term for it: diva. When a wildly talented player puts themselves before the team, making themselves the focal point instead of focusing on what matters most in a team game like fooball, ie, winning, they are a diva.
Nevertheless, Brown is stupidly talented (emphasis on stupid), and had many suitors waiting to sign him. Eventually, he landed with the Oakland Raiders, although that wouldn't last long.
Problems seemed to creep up almost immediately in Brown's tenure with the Raiders. In May of 2019 he threatened to retire after the NFL wouldn't let him wear the helmet he wanted. Why? Because with the NFL's new guidelines, the helmet was deemed antiquated, and unsafe. But you can't tell Antonio Brown no, remember. He's a big superstar, and he will always get what he wants.
Continuing to show great judgement, in June of the same year, Brown suffered frostbite after not wearing the right shoes in a cryotherapy chamber. Playing a position where you do a lot of running, it's kinda important to have that feet that aren't frozen.
Oh yeah, and in a recurring theme of AB sharing too much about himself on social media, he posted a picture of his gross as fuck looking feet.
At this point, what Brown is doing is definitely fucking weird, and dumb, but what he does next is the equivalent of dumping gasoline on your head, and lighting a match, except AB did that to his career.
In the midst of the helmet debacle, Brown decided to no-show several practices, and the Raiders' management got tired of his diva behavior, fining Antonio multiple times.
...So Brown posted the fines on his Instagram, saying that the Raiders were being "haters".
After getting into a disagreement with Raiders general manager Mike Mayock, things got heated when he wouldn't mollycoddle AB after Mayock threatened to fine him for being belligerent. Brown of course, did the sensible thing; he threatened to punch him in the face, saying "fine me for that".
He also called Mayock a cracker and a bitch, because fuck it, why not?
In spite of all this nonsense, with murmurs that AB may be suspended week 1 of the season for his antics, he wasn't. Because, he was truly, and honestly, sorry for being a distraction to the team.
...And then he decided to record himself having a private call with head coach Jon Gruden, posting it to youtube, which is illegal in California, where the Raiders are headquartered.
Somehow, in his deluded brain, AB felt that he was in the right as fines kept piling up, the Raiders fining him over $200,000 for his temper tantrums. So, AB goes back to shitposting on Instagram, telling the Raiders to release him.
And in a not-so-shocking turn of events, the Raiders cut him.
I'm not sure why he's so happy in this video, the only reason why he got cut in the first place was entirely Brown's own, but his hubris is too great to see that with any clarity.
Oh and just to prove that God hates everything, the New England Patriots, the team that just won the Super Bowl the previous year almost immediately picked him up.
It wouldn't all be sunshine and roses with the Patriots however, as a former gymnast who attended Central Michigan at the same time as AB alleged he sexually assaulted her multiple times, and forcibly raped her. As of the time of writing this, the investigation is still ongoing, but it's just another layer of dumb in Brown's chaotic life.
Now I wasn't there, so I can't say for certain if he did or didn't rape her, but judging by these texts, he doesn't seem like the most romantic guy in the world.
He would eventually actually play a football game, y'know that thing that he's paid to do and is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? Playing against the Dolphins in week 2, although this was the last time Antonio has ever set foot on a football field.
The situation with the alleged sexual assault, and honestly, all of Antonio's other baggage, made him too big a burden to deal with for the Patriots, and after only 11 days with the team, they also released him.
His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said that they were disappointed, but that the parting was amicable and mutual.
Aaaaaand then AB had to throw another tantrum on social media:
Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger both have alleged histories of being sex pests themselves, so of course in AB's mind, it should be okay to still play, although having tantrums on twitter doesn't help his case. So, Brown says fuck it, and decided to take his ball and go home, saying he wouldn't play in the NFL ever again. (Although I doubt any team would be dumb enough to take him at this point)
Now this is all pretty bad and stupid, and you think someone who basically hit the lottery in life with their talents in athletics would try not to squander it and appreciate it for all its worth, but diva behavior, and sexual assault are fairly common among athletes.
No, this next section is where things go from stupid, to just straight up bizarre.
Part 2: The Descent Into Madness
So what has our buddy Antonio been up to since his sudden retirement from football?
Well, in September 2019 after being released by the Patriots he was sued by a hotel in Miami for throwing shit back in April 2018, almost killing a 22 month old kid.
He showed up late to his deposition as well, and was accused of reprehensible behavior:
-"Chanted, over and over, as if a mantra, a narrative of his own warped concept of the proceeding”.
-“Acting as if he was above the rule of law, [Brown] proceeded to make a mockery of the deposition process. [Brown’s] antics were so unreasonable that barely twenty [20] minutes into the deposition, his counsel asked for a break [so] he could speak with [Brown] about his demeanor."
-“After approximately 20-30 minutes, [Brown] required another break. When the deposition resumed [Brown] increased his level of obstructive behavior. At one point, [Brown] refused to answer any questions, instead saying “next question” no less than 10 times.”
-“Soon thereafter, [Brown] started announcing a countdown, starting at ‘five (5) minutes,’ and counting down the minutes thereafter. Before noon [Brown] left the conference room.”
He's also being sued for not paying a celebrity chef, because the chef left a salmon head in AB's freezer. Why is this a big deal? It's not, but Antonio must've been watch The Godfather that week, because he perceived it as a threat, and ducked out on paying the chef.
In December 2019, he claimed that an ex-girlfriend stole a Bentley of his, throwing a shitfit and calling the cops, even though her Instagram post, with it having a giant red ribbon, shows that it was clearly a gift.
And after calling the cops, he's needlessly hostile and accosting with them, and of course, since he's a social media addict, is streaming the fucking thing on Facebook Live:
He's also multi-talented folks, having aspirations of being a rapper, and being bad at it.
Also jokes about abusing his children:
He wants to fight Logan Paul in a boxing match, and has been supposedly training to do so.
Says he's done with white women as a New Year's resolution in 2020. (That godawful music video has white women in it btw)
More of him showing his appreciation towards law enforcement. (While swearing like a goddamn sailor in front of his own kids):
Through thick and thin, his agent Drew Rosenhaus has stuck with him, being his PR manager pretty much every time AB says or does something stupid. (Which is all the time)
But after a while of having to deal with a nonstop greasefire, Rosenhaus had enough. and dropped Brown from his representation agency.
AB, being the immature manbaby he is, posted a screenshot of his texts with Rossenhaus on Instagram, accusing him of stabbing AB in the back, although AB's done a good job of that himself.
Antonio was also dropped by his lawyer for not paying his legal fees.
The latest shenanigans AB's been up to as of late is for allegedly beating the fuck out of a moving truck driver. Why? because he refused to pay the driver $4000 in damages that AB allegedly caused to the truck. AB's personal trainer was also involved in beating up the driver, and was arrested.
So Antonio being the genius he is decides instead of telling the police his side of the story, or y'know, paying the four grand which is pocket change for a professional athlete, at the time of making this thread, he's barricaded himself inside his house and refuses to come out.
He's also hinted that he's developed a bit of a drug problem, which would not shock me for a second, given the chaotic background he comes from and that he's also a social media addict:
He also has an active warrant for being arrested, who knows if he's gonna totally snap and go down Waco style, attempting to shoot police from his house.
You would think that a sane person would realize at this point, they've got a problem. Well, Antonio Brown is clearly not sane. Why? I hope to explain that in the next section.
Part 3: What The Fuck Is This Guy's Problem?
It's no secret that football is a dangerous game. Hell, I'll admit it's part of the appeal for me as a fan. And NFL players know exactly what they're getting into when they decide to play football, it's the trade-off of making life changing money that well set your family up for good.
Some people have speculated that CTE is the culprit for AB's erratic behavior, I don't entirely disagree. Symptoms of CTE include poor judgement, social instability, and impulsive behavior, all of which AB exudes in spades.
He even shows signs of slurred speech, one of the biggest tells of CTE:
This interview is especially pertinent, as it relates to Brown taking what is in my opinion, the most brutal hit I've ever seen live in on a football field, it was in 2016 in a playoff game against the Steeler's rival the Cincinnati Bengals, where a notoriously dirty player Vontaze Burfict (who ironically ended up being teammates with Brown during his stint with the Raiders) knocks him out cold when AB went over the middle for a pass:
This seems like a likely culprit to explain AB's insanity, since prior to 2017, he really had no public squabbles as a player, he was just known as a guy who played and worked his ass off, and was on of the best at his position because of that.
But I don't think it really tells the whole story. Is it a contributing factor? Absolutely. But as an outsider looking at AB, I think there's other things worth looking into.
First off, Antonio, like a lot of black athletes, didn't grow up with a dad. His mom had to raise him, and in a crime-ridden shithole like Liberty City, that's really tough to do. But it's not like he didn't have some sort of father-figure. He had a stepdad from the time he was 5 to 17, but I think his personality makeup was already set in stone before then, as his stepdad recounts how he was combative and hostile even back then. Growing up around violence basically from the time he was born, I think explains a lot about Brown's personality, and why he behaves so defensively and irrationally any time something even partially doesn't go his way.
Before going to Central Michigan, he originally signed to play at Florida International University, but was kicked out for getting in a fight with a security guard.
And even before he was drafted, NFL scouts had concerns about him, saying he lacked functional strength and maturity to handle being a professional athlete.
Former teammates have come out saying that he showed signs of destructive behavior even as early as 2012, when he got his first contract extension, thinking that now that he had money, nobody could tell him anything, now that he had "made it".
Combining a troubled childhood, with the ego-boost of being a millionaire pro athlete, and living in the age of social media, where AB shows obvious signs he's addicted to it, spending the majority of his life on Twitter when he should be raising his kids, paints a better picture of who Antonio Brown is as a person.
Closing Thoughts
Antonio Brown is obviously a deeply troubled person. If I was him, I would get into therapy and rehab immediately, before things get even worse than they already have. His NFL career is done. His professional football career is done. He's become so radioactive that even Vince McMahon's reboot of the XFL doesn't want anything to do with the clown show that is AB.
If I were Antonio's family, I would do anything I could to get the help he needs. But I don't think that's gonna happen, and I don't think Antonio's gonna change his ways unless something really drastic happens. Like if he goes to prison for a long time, or ends up broke. And even then, I'm not sure if he'll just keep blaming everyone else for his problems, and throw tantrums on Twitter.
I want to make it perfectly clear that while I sympathize with AB for coming from a rough childhood, that doesn't excuse his behavior at all. Chaotic people that come from chaotic environments have to realize that they got dealt a shitty hand, and should have enough self-awareness to know that their wires got crossed funny when they were little. Antonio, has zero self-awareness, that's why he's a lolcow.
Relevant links:
AB's Twitter
Instagram
Youtube Channel
I want to thank @Wooo, @Army Burger, @Cat Menagerie, @MementoMalum, @JY's Tampon, and all the other folks over at the NFL Thread for providing information relating to Brown so that I could hopefully catalog in a way that makes sense to non-football fans.
Keep politispergery out of this thread. We will fucking threadban you if you shit up the thread with this.
Mod edit: Below was the original post about Antonio Brown.
-----------------
Introduction
"Icarus soared into the sky, but in the process, he came too close to the sun, which due to the heat melted the wax. Icarus kept flapping his wings but soon realized that he had no feathers left and that he was only flapping his bare arms, and so Icarus fell into the sea and drowned."
"Who is this random sportsball guy? Why should I give a shit?"
Antonio Brown is, in my humble opinion, the single biggest waste of talent, ever. His (ongoing) story is a cautionary tale of what happens when the man upstairs blesses someone with the ability to change their life for the better, yet hubris and ego cause them to squander these gifts.
Raised in the poverty stricken neighborhood of Liberty City, in Miami, Florida, Brown sought sports as a way out of his situation as an adolescent. He excelled in both track & field and football, and was recruited by college football powerhouses like Florida State, but had his admission refused over academic concerns.
This led to him walking-on at Central Michigan, a much less prestigious but still viable school for football. I won't bore the non-football fans here with his stats in college, but he stayed fairly under the radar, and this led him to being drafted in the sixth round, with the 195th pick in the NFL draft, by one of the most prestigious teams in professional football, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Now, to get in the mind of Mr. Brown, he thinks very, VERY highly of himself, and if I were to guess, used being passed up on by both major colleges and teams in earlier rounds of the draft as motivation, to prove everyone wrong.
And you know what?
He fucking did.
Over time, Antonio Brown became the best wide receiver in the NFL. Like, I don't know if in the period from 2014-2017 if there was even another receiver who could hold a candle to him, that's how amazingly talented he was. And he was well compensated for it, his last contract for the Steelers paid him $19 million, making him at the time the highest paid wide receiver in the sport.
Life changing money, something us sports fans could only dream about making. Not only was Brown set for life, he had the ability to give his mom a better home, his children a perfect environment to be raised in, that he didn't get. And that's why his story is so frustrating, because of how deep, and depressing the rabbit hole gets...
Part 1: Icarus Flies High
I think the best place to begin with Antonio Brown's odd antics, is when in early 2017 after beating the Chiefs in a playoff game, Brown decided to film the locker room afterwards. Now, in sports, their are few places as revered as the locker room. It's one of the scant spaces that athletes can truly have privacy, and breaking that trust between your fellow players is a big no-no., especially when it you do it while your coach is speaking, and you also catch him calling the team you're about to play "assholes"", and broadcast that out to thousands of people live.
Ultimately, Brown would apologize to both head coach Mike Tomlin, and the Steelers organization, but this was only beginning of his increasingly bizarre behavior.
All would be fairly quiet with both Brown, and the Steelers, but in December, 2018, in a game against the New Orleans Saints, when the Steelers are battling to make the playoffs, Brown was dissatisfied, and moody with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, believing he wasn't getting enough catches, even though at this point in time it's late in the year, and he should be focused and wanting to make the playoffs so the Steelers could get to a Super Bowl, Brown was instead worried about his stats.
It got so bad thatduring practice, Brown chucked a ball at the QB, then decided to not practice the rest of the week. He was then benched the last week of the season, although officially, the Steelers would say it was because of injury. It wouldn't come out until early last year that the team had been enabling this kind of behavior, and eventually got tired of Antonio's shit.
Even though the Steelers and Brown seemed to part ways amicably, his ego seemed to be larger than ever, telling ESPN in an interview "I don't even need the game. I don't need to prove nothing to anyone. If they wanna play, they going to play by my rules. If not, I don't need to play. " Even though playing a game as a job is a privilege, not a right, and one most people with any sort of athletic ability would give an arm and a leg to be in his position for, to Antonio, it was a privilege for the NFL to have him, not the other way around.
This type of behavior isn't entirely uncommon among players at Brown's position. In fact, there's a term for it: diva. When a wildly talented player puts themselves before the team, making themselves the focal point instead of focusing on what matters most in a team game like fooball, ie, winning, they are a diva.
Nevertheless, Brown is stupidly talented (emphasis on stupid), and had many suitors waiting to sign him. Eventually, he landed with the Oakland Raiders, although that wouldn't last long.
Problems seemed to creep up almost immediately in Brown's tenure with the Raiders. In May of 2019 he threatened to retire after the NFL wouldn't let him wear the helmet he wanted. Why? Because with the NFL's new guidelines, the helmet was deemed antiquated, and unsafe. But you can't tell Antonio Brown no, remember. He's a big superstar, and he will always get what he wants.
Continuing to show great judgement, in June of the same year, Brown suffered frostbite after not wearing the right shoes in a cryotherapy chamber. Playing a position where you do a lot of running, it's kinda important to have that feet that aren't frozen.
Oh yeah, and in a recurring theme of AB sharing too much about himself on social media, he posted a picture of his gross as fuck looking feet.
At this point, what Brown is doing is definitely fucking weird, and dumb, but what he does next is the equivalent of dumping gasoline on your head, and lighting a match, except AB did that to his career.
In the midst of the helmet debacle, Brown decided to no-show several practices, and the Raiders' management got tired of his diva behavior, fining Antonio multiple times.
...So Brown posted the fines on his Instagram, saying that the Raiders were being "haters".
After getting into a disagreement with Raiders general manager Mike Mayock, things got heated when he wouldn't mollycoddle AB after Mayock threatened to fine him for being belligerent. Brown of course, did the sensible thing; he threatened to punch him in the face, saying "fine me for that".
He also called Mayock a cracker and a bitch, because fuck it, why not?
In spite of all this nonsense, with murmurs that AB may be suspended week 1 of the season for his antics, he wasn't. Because, he was truly, and honestly, sorry for being a distraction to the team.
...And then he decided to record himself having a private call with head coach Jon Gruden, posting it to youtube, which is illegal in California, where the Raiders are headquartered.
Somehow, in his deluded brain, AB felt that he was in the right as fines kept piling up, the Raiders fining him over $200,000 for his temper tantrums. So, AB goes back to shitposting on Instagram, telling the Raiders to release him.
And in a not-so-shocking turn of events, the Raiders cut him.
Oh and just to prove that God hates everything, the New England Patriots, the team that just won the Super Bowl the previous year almost immediately picked him up.
It wouldn't all be sunshine and roses with the Patriots however, as a former gymnast who attended Central Michigan at the same time as AB alleged he sexually assaulted her multiple times, and forcibly raped her. As of the time of writing this, the investigation is still ongoing, but it's just another layer of dumb in Brown's chaotic life.
Now I wasn't there, so I can't say for certain if he did or didn't rape her, but judging by these texts, he doesn't seem like the most romantic guy in the world.
He would eventually actually play a football game, y'know that thing that he's paid to do and is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? Playing against the Dolphins in week 2, although this was the last time Antonio has ever set foot on a football field.
The situation with the alleged sexual assault, and honestly, all of Antonio's other baggage, made him too big a burden to deal with for the Patriots, and after only 11 days with the team, they also released him.
His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said that they were disappointed, but that the parting was amicable and mutual.
Aaaaaand then AB had to throw another tantrum on social media:
Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger both have alleged histories of being sex pests themselves, so of course in AB's mind, it should be okay to still play, although having tantrums on twitter doesn't help his case. So, Brown says fuck it, and decided to take his ball and go home, saying he wouldn't play in the NFL ever again. (Although I doubt any team would be dumb enough to take him at this point)
Now this is all pretty bad and stupid, and you think someone who basically hit the lottery in life with their talents in athletics would try not to squander it and appreciate it for all its worth, but diva behavior, and sexual assault are fairly common among athletes.
No, this next section is where things go from stupid, to just straight up bizarre.
Part 2: The Descent Into Madness
So what has our buddy Antonio been up to since his sudden retirement from football?
Well, in September 2019 after being released by the Patriots he was sued by a hotel in Miami for throwing shit back in April 2018, almost killing a 22 month old kid.
He showed up late to his deposition as well, and was accused of reprehensible behavior:
-"Chanted, over and over, as if a mantra, a narrative of his own warped concept of the proceeding”.
-“Acting as if he was above the rule of law, [Brown] proceeded to make a mockery of the deposition process. [Brown’s] antics were so unreasonable that barely twenty [20] minutes into the deposition, his counsel asked for a break [so] he could speak with [Brown] about his demeanor."
-“After approximately 20-30 minutes, [Brown] required another break. When the deposition resumed [Brown] increased his level of obstructive behavior. At one point, [Brown] refused to answer any questions, instead saying “next question” no less than 10 times.”
-“Soon thereafter, [Brown] started announcing a countdown, starting at ‘five (5) minutes,’ and counting down the minutes thereafter. Before noon [Brown] left the conference room.”
He's also being sued for not paying a celebrity chef, because the chef left a salmon head in AB's freezer. Why is this a big deal? It's not, but Antonio must've been watch The Godfather that week, because he perceived it as a threat, and ducked out on paying the chef.
In December 2019, he claimed that an ex-girlfriend stole a Bentley of his, throwing a shitfit and calling the cops, even though her Instagram post, with it having a giant red ribbon, shows that it was clearly a gift.
And after calling the cops, he's needlessly hostile and accosting with them, and of course, since he's a social media addict, is streaming the fucking thing on Facebook Live:
He's also multi-talented folks, having aspirations of being a rapper, and being bad at it.
Also jokes about abusing his children:
He wants to fight Logan Paul in a boxing match, and has been supposedly training to do so.
Says he's done with white women as a New Year's resolution in 2020. (That godawful music video has white women in it btw)
More of him showing his appreciation towards law enforcement. (While swearing like a goddamn sailor in front of his own kids):
Through thick and thin, his agent Drew Rosenhaus has stuck with him, being his PR manager pretty much every time AB says or does something stupid. (Which is all the time)
But after a while of having to deal with a nonstop greasefire, Rosenhaus had enough. and dropped Brown from his representation agency.
AB, being the immature manbaby he is, posted a screenshot of his texts with Rossenhaus on Instagram, accusing him of stabbing AB in the back, although AB's done a good job of that himself.
Antonio was also dropped by his lawyer for not paying his legal fees.
The latest shenanigans AB's been up to as of late is for allegedly beating the fuck out of a moving truck driver. Why? because he refused to pay the driver $4000 in damages that AB allegedly caused to the truck. AB's personal trainer was also involved in beating up the driver, and was arrested.
So Antonio being the genius he is decides instead of telling the police his side of the story, or y'know, paying the four grand which is pocket change for a professional athlete, at the time of making this thread, he's barricaded himself inside his house and refuses to come out.
He's also hinted that he's developed a bit of a drug problem, which would not shock me for a second, given the chaotic background he comes from and that he's also a social media addict:
He also has an active warrant for being arrested, who knows if he's gonna totally snap and go down Waco style, attempting to shoot police from his house.
You would think that a sane person would realize at this point, they've got a problem. Well, Antonio Brown is clearly not sane. Why? I hope to explain that in the next section.
Part 3: What The Fuck Is This Guy's Problem?
It's no secret that football is a dangerous game. Hell, I'll admit it's part of the appeal for me as a fan. And NFL players know exactly what they're getting into when they decide to play football, it's the trade-off of making life changing money that well set your family up for good.
Some people have speculated that CTE is the culprit for AB's erratic behavior, I don't entirely disagree. Symptoms of CTE include poor judgement, social instability, and impulsive behavior, all of which AB exudes in spades.
He even shows signs of slurred speech, one of the biggest tells of CTE:
This interview is especially pertinent, as it relates to Brown taking what is in my opinion, the most brutal hit I've ever seen live in on a football field, it was in 2016 in a playoff game against the Steeler's rival the Cincinnati Bengals, where a notoriously dirty player Vontaze Burfict (who ironically ended up being teammates with Brown during his stint with the Raiders) knocks him out cold when AB went over the middle for a pass:
This seems like a likely culprit to explain AB's insanity, since prior to 2017, he really had no public squabbles as a player, he was just known as a guy who played and worked his ass off, and was on of the best at his position because of that.
But I don't think it really tells the whole story. Is it a contributing factor? Absolutely. But as an outsider looking at AB, I think there's other things worth looking into.
First off, Antonio, like a lot of black athletes, didn't grow up with a dad. His mom had to raise him, and in a crime-ridden shithole like Liberty City, that's really tough to do. But it's not like he didn't have some sort of father-figure. He had a stepdad from the time he was 5 to 17, but I think his personality makeup was already set in stone before then, as his stepdad recounts how he was combative and hostile even back then. Growing up around violence basically from the time he was born, I think explains a lot about Brown's personality, and why he behaves so defensively and irrationally any time something even partially doesn't go his way.
Before going to Central Michigan, he originally signed to play at Florida International University, but was kicked out for getting in a fight with a security guard.
And even before he was drafted, NFL scouts had concerns about him, saying he lacked functional strength and maturity to handle being a professional athlete.
Former teammates have come out saying that he showed signs of destructive behavior even as early as 2012, when he got his first contract extension, thinking that now that he had money, nobody could tell him anything, now that he had "made it".
Combining a troubled childhood, with the ego-boost of being a millionaire pro athlete, and living in the age of social media, where AB shows obvious signs he's addicted to it, spending the majority of his life on Twitter when he should be raising his kids, paints a better picture of who Antonio Brown is as a person.
Closing Thoughts
Antonio Brown is obviously a deeply troubled person. If I was him, I would get into therapy and rehab immediately, before things get even worse than they already have. His NFL career is done. His professional football career is done. He's become so radioactive that even Vince McMahon's reboot of the XFL doesn't want anything to do with the clown show that is AB.
If I were Antonio's family, I would do anything I could to get the help he needs. But I don't think that's gonna happen, and I don't think Antonio's gonna change his ways unless something really drastic happens. Like if he goes to prison for a long time, or ends up broke. And even then, I'm not sure if he'll just keep blaming everyone else for his problems, and throw tantrums on Twitter.
I want to make it perfectly clear that while I sympathize with AB for coming from a rough childhood, that doesn't excuse his behavior at all. Chaotic people that come from chaotic environments have to realize that they got dealt a shitty hand, and should have enough self-awareness to know that their wires got crossed funny when they were little. Antonio, has zero self-awareness, that's why he's a lolcow.
Relevant links:
AB's Twitter
Youtube Channel
I want to thank @Wooo, @Army Burger, @Cat Menagerie, @MementoMalum, @JY's Tampon, and all the other folks over at the NFL Thread for providing information relating to Brown so that I could hopefully catalog in a way that makes sense to non-football fans.
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