Brown loses his shirt (and job) in meltdown
Antonio Brown is unemployed again. His time with the Buccaneers came to an abrupt end Sunday afternoon in bizarre fashion.
The mercurial and troubled receiver, who helped Tom Brady and Co. win a Super Bowl in February, left the MetLife Stadium field late in the third quarter against the Jets after taking off the top half of his uniform and didn’t return.
“He is no longer a Buc,” coach Bruce Arians said after Tampa Bay’s comefrom-behind, 28-24 victory over the Jets. “That’s the story.”
Fox’s Jay Glazer reported that twice Arians tried to get Brown to re-enter the game and the player refused. At that point, Brown ripped off his shoulder pads and jersey, threw his T-shirt and gloves into the stands and waved to the crowd as he ran across the end zone and into the tunnel while play was going on. Teammates O.J. Howard and Mike Evans attempted to convince him not to leave, but Brown didn’t listen.
“Never seen anything like it in all my years,” Arians told Glazer.
The four-time All-Pro was having a quiet game. He had just three receptions on five targets for 26 yards in his second game back after a three-game league-mandated suspension for using a fake vaccine card to get through COVID-19 protocols for unvaccinated players. He had 10 receptions for 101 yards last week in a win over the Panthers.
It’s possible he was upset about what a poor game would do to his goal of reaching contract incentives that would add an additional $1 million to his contract, ESPN previously reported. In his last two games, Brown needed 11 more receptions, 281 more yards and two more touchdowns to net that amount.
Arians took some heat for not disciplining the 33-yearold Brown further after the vaccine-card incident. When the Buccaneers initially signed Brown in October 2020, the coach said, “He screws up one time, he’s gone.” Brown was then wrapping up an eight-game suspension from the NFL for allegations of rape, sexual misconduct and nocontest plea on a felony burglary conveyance charge. Arians said after the most recent suspension that he was taking back
Brown because, “it’s in the best interest of our football team.”
But now he has apparently had enough of the star’s diva-like behavior, although Arians declined to go into specifics.
“I’m not talking about him,” the coach said. “He’s no longer part of the Bucs.”
Two teammates, Brady and former Jets running back Le’Veon Bell, defended Brown the person. Bell said he reached out to Brown after the game via text message and declined to criticize him or his antics. The two played together for five seasons with the Steelers.
“You won’t hear me talking bad about ‘AB’ at all,” Bell said. “Overall good person, obviously some bad decision-making at times, but he’s human.”
Brady, who has advocated for Brown in the past and even had him stay with his family for a period of time in 2020, suggested his personal demons got the better of him. The two were briefly teammates with the Patriots in 2019.
“We all love him and care about him deeply. We want to see him be at his best. Unfortunately it won’t be on our team,” Brady said. “I think everyone should be very compassionate and empathetic toward some very difficult things that are happening.”