Brown says joy led to social media gaffe
was why Brown picked up his phone at Arrowhead Stadium in the first place. In his statement, he said his “emotions and genuine excitement” get the best of him, and that he was trying to share the win with fans.
He reiterated that Wednesday, but went a step further, saying that the excitement stemmed from getting to play in the AFC divisional game against the Chiefs; he missed a divisional-round game a year ago against the Denver Broncos because of a concussion.
“You guys don’t know what it’s like being ruled out of a game and then having to wait 365 days to get that opportunity again,” he said.
“But I think my teammates know the type of person I am, what I stand for.”
By all accounts, they do; quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said Tuesday that he was “a little disappointed” with Brown for violating a “sacred” time, but not angry, then called it “water under the bridge” Wednesday.
Tackle Marcus Gilbert said the rest of the roster doesn’t “worry about A.B. at all.”
“The guys see the bigger picture,” Gilbert said. “We know A.B. will come out and play his tail off. I hope he gets the rock pretty early so he can do his thing.”
Linebacker Ryan Shazier said Brown went live “at the wrong time,” but isn’t holding it against him, either.
“Antonio is a great teammate,” Shazier said. “I know that at the end of the day he won’t do something like that again. He wasn’t trying to do anything disrespectful. I know we’re ready to play, we weren’t really distracted by it that much.”
If Shazier speaks for the rest of his teammates, it’s good news for them; they have to deal with often-goofy, annoying questions on a daily basis, but this was on a slightly larger scale and came on the run-up to the biggest game of their season.
And if there’s a single person Brown owed an apology, it’s Tomlin — because Tuesday, Tomlin was as obviously angry at a player as you’ll see him in public, calling Brown’s decision “foolish,” “selfish” and “disrespectful,” pledging to punish him, saying that such behavior distracts from his talent, then intimating that it’s the sort of thing that leads players to change teams.
Tomlin, like Roethlisberger, didn’t revisit the topic Wednesday. Brown declined to detail their conversation or his punishment, but called Tomlin a “father figure” and said he had “the utmost respect” for him.
“Those words that he spoke, I didn’t take lightly,” Brown said. “That’s a big statement coming from our head coach, and I don’t take those things for granted.
“There’s nothing I can’t talk about with him. He’s always upfront and honest with me, and I’m just excited we got that type of relationship.”
Brown compared it to how he deals with his own kids.
“They’re gonna make some mistakes. But you want to see your kids take ownership in the midst of making mistakes,” Brown said. “He knew I wouldn’t make any excuses or seek any comfort.”
What we don’t know: Whether Brown has a contract with Facebook — “top secret,” he said Wednesday — or whether he’ll go live again.
He was asked as much. His response: “Wait and see.”
Sean Gentille: sgentille@post-gazette.com and Twitter @seangentille.