Antonio Brown, who had an epic meltdown Sunday during the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ win over the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, finally shared his side of the story.
And for some, it’s falling on deaf ears.
Brown issued a lengthy statement Wednesday in which he accused Bucs head coach Bruce Arians of trying to force him to play through an ankle injury. The wide receiver also shared text messages the two exchanged, as well as a screenshot of a conversation he had with Alex Guerrero, claiming Tom Brady’s longtime trainer charged him for unfinished work.
Brown’s claims, obviously, paint the Buccaneers in a negative light. But how much really changed in wake of Brown speaking out against Arians and the Tampa Bay organization?
“It doesn’t change a whole lot,” Shannon Sharpe said on Thursday’s episode of “Undisputed” on FS1. “because it doesn’t change what transpired after the fact.”
Basically, according to Sharpe, the real issue with Brown’s sideline blowup — in which the 33-year-old removed his pads and exited the field shirtless — was how he handled the situation. Even if Arians tried to make Brown play through an injury — an allegation the coach denied Thursday — and Brown refused, prompting a disagreement, AB’s theatrical departure was a little over the top.
After all, Brown did jumping jacks in the end zone and played to the crowd. During a game.
“Let’s just say for the sake of argument everything that (Antonio Brown) said is true — that he felt pressured, (Bruce Arians) knew he was injured and still tried to force him to play,” Sharpe said. “Explain the exit. Explain the exit. There is no explanation for why you did what you did.
“You could’ve easily said, ‘OK’ (and) walked to the locker room. People would be like, ‘AB’s going to the locker room, probably going to get an MRI. AB’s going to get an X-ray. Probably going to get some further evaluation.’ We would have never known anything. But it was the way you handled the situation. You cannot do what AB did. And they’ll say, ‘Well, AB was hurt.’ Everybody’s hurt at this stage. Granted, there’s degrees to which a player is injured. It does not offer an explanation for why AB handled it the way he did.”
Many were quick to show concern about Brown’s mental health after Sunday’s tantrum. Brady, who said little about Brown’s official release Thursday, implored everyone to show compassion. Even Arians since has wished Brown the best as the sides part ways.
Now, we’re left to wonder what the future holds for Brown, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection with an extensive track record of questionable antics. Will another team give him a shot next season?
“Yes, players are going to get frustrated. Yes, there’s a lot of emotion, there’s a lot of adrenaline going on, because you’re talking about men competing,” Sharpe, a former NFL tight end-turned-talking head, said Thursday. “But AB, how he handled the exit, AB’s setting this up for a ‘he said, he said,’ and there’s another team (that’ll say), ‘Well, he apologized for it. He admitted he could’ve handled the situation.’ So they’re going to talk themselves into giving AB another crack next year.”
What a saga, just in time for the Buccaneers’ playoff run.
