A season of absolute chaos in Steelers Nation continues with a matchup against the New England Patriots at Heinz Field on Sunday night. As if there weren’t going to be enough storylines heading into the game, leave it to Antonio Brown to put his name into the headlines.
Antonio Brown Needs To Cut It Out
I am a Steelers fan, always have been and always will be. I can admit first hand that ‘AB’ is an absolute moron sometimes. Is he a great person? Yes. Is he the best receiver on the field in any given game that he plays? Undoubtedly. But,his actions continue to get him into trouble. I haven’t necessarily agreed with the NFL’s repeated fines on him for sexual or choreographed celebrations.
Of course, you’ve heard by now, but in case you’re just emerging from the rock that you are living under, Brown recorded his teammates in the locker room after the game in a 17 1/2 minute video that was put out to the public on Facebook Live. He continued filming when head coach Mike Tomlin began to speak. Tomlin had said a few things about the upcoming Patriots that were blown up by the media.
“They’re assholes…We spotted them a day and a half, that’s fine. We’ll still be ready for that ass.”
Right after that, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and offensive guard Ramon Foster had told the team to “keep a low profile on social media” and to “keep your mouths shut”. Brown had the camera rolling through all of that.
According to the NFL Rules policy, players are not allowed to post on social media 90 minutes before or after a game. Antonio Brown had been on Facebook Live within 20 minutes. Tomlin said he personally will punish Brown and believes the league will do the same.
Tomlin Tells Brown To Grow Up
Tomlin opened his press conference on Tuesday by apologizing “as a parent” for his language that was recorded on the video. He said that he should choose his words more carefully. He admitted that the team will “punish him, we will not punish us”. Essentially, Tomlin will fine Brown an undisclosed amount but won’t bench him. There isn’t a reason to. It’s the most important game of the season to date.
“At some point, AB has to address these things,” Tomlin said. “Things don’t apply exclusively to Antonio…I think that’s often why you see great players move around from team to team. I definitely don’t want that to be his story. I’m sure he doesn’t want that to be his story. So he has to address these things that put him and us in positions from time to time in settings such as this where it needs to be addressed.”
You have to applaud Tomlin for going up there and taking it like a man. It was really his only option that his star wide receiver gave him.
Antonio Brown Speaks Out
Wednesday afternoon, Antonio Brown took the stage and did his AFC Championship game interview. He admitted to being caught up in the moment after the win and was oblivious to what had been going on. He said he was not aware of the team’s or league’s policy.
“I wasn’t aware,” Brown said. “I had no intentions of putting our organization on blast…I just got carried away at the moment. I am human and I am going to make mistakes. As a man, I own up to those mistakes. People know what I stand for and what I represent and what type of person I am.”
Shockingly, after all of this has gone on, Brown did not rule out potentially using Facebook Live again after a game.
How Do I Feel?
I’m never going to stand here and say I don’t like Antonio Brown because without him this season, the Steelers had no chance. With Martavis Bryant suspended for an entire season, the team was desperate for reinforcements. Brown is obviously the team’s number one wideout but having Bryant would’ve relieved the load on Brown.
I have no problem with what Mike Tomlin said. It’s “locker room talk” to coin a phrase from Donald Trump. The problem I have is that the video even extended through until Tomlin was talking. When Roethlisberger and Foster made those comments, it was a subliminal shot at a guy like Brown who constantly uses social media. The irony is that the video caught them saying it.
Brown needs to grow up. He doesn’t need to be traded so clear that from your mind. That doesn’t exempt him from doing something that a kid in a high school football locker room wouldn’t even be foolish enough to do.
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