Seattle Seahawks: Is Antonio Brown a necessary evil?
Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers. Seattle Seahawks. (Photo by Paula Lively via Flickr)
The bad
If Antonio Brown is a Hall of Fame talent on the field, he’s also a world-class pain in the butt, off of it. The receiver forced his way off a winning team in Pittsburgh, smack in the middle of a four-year, $68M contract. The Steelers traded him to Oakland in March of 2019, where he (a) proceeded to take every possible shot possible at the Steelers, and (b) made life miserable for Raiders Head Coach Jon Gruden and GM Mike Mayock (including a threatened physical assault). Before playing a game in black and silver, the Raiders released him.
After all that, the disgruntled free agent still went on social media to badmouth anyone and everyone, he felt wronged him. Brown made more headlines as a non-player than he ever did with a ball in his hands. Even with the baggage, New England of all teams took a chance on him, which meant doing it the Patriots way. An alternate term for do your job and don’t embarrass the team.
The Ugly
The experiment lasted a week. Rape allegations surfaced against Brown, going back to his days at Central Michigan University. The receiver made his situation worse by allegedly trying to intimidate the victim via text message. New England couldn’t keep him on the team after that, despite four receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown in his Pats debut.
If you’re counting at home, that’s one paragraph totaling 74 words about Brown’s outstanding career. Additionally, there are 220 words in three paragraphs about what a rotten teammate and person he is. All of which brings the conversation to the present.