Antonio Brown’s fall from grace has played out in the public eye over the last three years or so.
And every accusation, lawsuit and outburst has led him to this point: released from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with his future in the NFL in question once again.
Since his dramatic departure in the middle of the Buccaneers’ Week 17 win over the New York Jets, the wideout has been on a tear trying to defend his actions by calling out his former coach and teammates including Tom Brady. It probably has done more to harm his case than help it, considering the increased speculation from armchair psychiatrists about his mental state.
Either way, he doesn’t like how he’s been miscategorized.
“Everyone in the world got a different form of reactions of what happened to me. And it’s all based upon where you from, how you feel and no one really gonna know that regardless of who you is,” Brown told former NFL receiver Brandon Marshall in a preview of “I Am Athlete.”
“The thing with football players is mental health and CTE is this: These guys are willing to do whatever it take to make some obligated gain. But in the midst of those gains, along that journey, they’re mistreated, there’s a lot of stuff that went on that may not have been handled right.”
Brown has insisted he was asked to leave the game against the Jets after refusing to play through an injury. Bruce Arians has denied that version of the story or knowledge of the player’s injury, but Brown posted text messages between him and his former coach indicating otherwise.
Perhaps Brown isn’t historically great at taking responsibility for his actions or reactions, but he seems to be upset with the lack of people coming to his defense.
“And then you started your career on a high. It’s like a rollercoaster. You go up, and then as soon as it bout to go down, everyone leave. … If we all players and we all saying we care about mental health, why every time something happens bad or someone reacts, ‘Aw, he’s crazy, there’s something wrong with his mental health,'” Brown asked.
“There’s nothing wrong with my mental health. Someone told me, ‘Get the f— out of here.’ I’m not passive-aggressive.”
