Brown probably should be suspended
I buy Rosenhaus’ explanation that Brown’s “Trade me” tweet wasn’t an actual demand but rather a response to criticism from a former Steelers employee. Tomlin confirmed at his Tuesday news conference that Brown hasn’t asked for a trade.
But I am not buying Rosenhaus’ justification for Brown’s obnoxious behavior in the game Sunday. “That’s not anything more than him encouraging his coaches and teammates to win … A.B. has an incredible drive to win.” All of the players — not just Brown — have that incredible drive. But that drive doesn’t justify Brown’s selfish concern for his personal stats, often when it isn’t in the best interests of the team.
And I definitely am not buying Rosenhaus’ explanation that Brown’s absence from work Monday was because of a personal issue that Rosenhaus had made clear to the Steelers. If that were true, Tomlin would have said that Brown had an excused absence and it would have been the end of the story. Instead, Tomlin said he would get to the bottom of the matter later Tuesday when he met with Brown.
Wouldn’t you have loved to have heard that conversation?
Tomlin also said he would address Brown’s frequent screw-ups on social media “very directly” with him. I believe Tomlin. I just question how much good a stern talk with Brown will do. Brown never has paid much attention to Tomlin’s lectures and openly has disrespected him for years by taking excessive-celebration penalties, showing up Landry Jones and his offensive coordinators on the field and violating the sanctity of the locker room by putting Tomlin’s postgame address to the team on Facebook Live. I blame Tomlin as much as Brown, maybe more. Tomlin created a monster in Brown by allowing him to get away with anything he wants. Tomlin has two reasons: One, Brown is a terrific player, and, two, Brown is the hardest worker on the team.
“Everything he gets, he’s earned,” Tomlin told me in 2015. “His commitment to this thing is unique. When people have unique commitments, they get unique considerations. That’s the reality of life.”
It’s probably too late for Tomlin to reel back in the monster, but he has to try. He can’t tolerate a player — any player — missing work without a good reason and without notification in advance. That isn’t fair to the rest of the team. I believe Tomlin will risk losing the other players if he doesn’t come down with harsh discipline on Brown. I know for a fact they are watching to see what he does. So are Art Rooney II and Kevin Colbert, who have to be sick and tired of dealing with Brown’s issues.
No one player — not even the greatest receiver in Steelers history — can be bigger than the team. Tomlin has no choice: Brown should be suspended for the Tampa Bay game.
Call it short-term pain for long-term gain.