Brown blasts Roethlisberger, Tomlin

PITTSBURGH — Antonio Brown’s laundry list of issues with the Pittsburgh Steelers appears to include a problem with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s leadership style and how head coach Mike Tomlin treated the Pro Bowl wide receiver during the regular-season finale against Cincinnati.

Brown, who has requested a trade, took to Twitter on Saturday to vent in what amounted to his first expanded public comments since a falling out with the organization that has left his future with the club very much in doubt.

Asked by a Twitter user about the root of his conflict with Roethlisberger, Brown responded “No conflict just a matter of respect! Mutual respect! He has a owner mentality like he can call out anybody including coaches. Players know but they can’t say anything about it otherwise they meal ticket gone. It’s a dirty game within a game. #truth.”

Roethlisberger does not hesitate to take teammates to task publicly, a right the two-time Super Bowl winner says he has earned. Roethlisberger on one occasion declined to name Brown when asked about the benefits of having a No. 1 receiver, instead naming just about every receiver on the roster.

Brown also called out Tomlin. The team sent Brown home two days before the final game of the season and ordered him to get some rest and have his knee examined. Tomlin said afterward Brown did not have the exam and did not communicate with the team until early on the morning of the day of the game when his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, contacted Tomlin and said Brown would be available to play.