Former Steelers' Great Antonio Brown Calls Out James Harrison; Blames Him For CTE

It's been a long downward spiral for Antonio Brown since he left the Pittsburgh Steelers. After 2018, the Steelers shipped Brown off to the then Oakland Raiders for two draft choices. And from there the ridiculousness of Brown began. First, it was Brown being released from the Raiders without ever playing a down for them. Then he was signed by the New England Patriots after Tom Brady lobbied for him. But shortly after he signed, news broke of him being accused of sexual assault in a civil suit by his former trainer. 

After playing one game in New England he was released. Eventually, his career would ascend to a high point when he teamed up with Brady again in Tampa Bay where the two would win a Super Bowl together. That of course all crashed down in 2021 when Brown took off his uniform and stormed off the field in a game for the Bucs against the New York Jets. Since then, Brown has remained unsigned and out of football. But that doesn't mean Brown has been out of the limelight. 

His latest escapade comes days after a 911 call was revealed by TMZ from a November 27th incident where Brown was accused of domestic abuse. The charges were eventually dropped, but in the call, you can hear the female caller claiming that Brown was sending explicit videos to her underage son.

Don't look now, though. Brown is back in the news. And this time it's directly Steelers related as Brown has called out former teammate and Steelers legend, James Harrison. During an Instagram live, Brown called out Harrison for causing him to develop CTE. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a brain condition thought to be linked to repeated head injuries and blows to the head.

"I wanted to tell you guys that I think James Harrison gave me CTE. James Harrison had an illegal helmet for over 20 years in the NFL. And he hit me one time. And ever since he hit me I've been super aggressive. So blame James Harrison for my CTE."

It's been long speculated that Brown has CTE and the condition is the cause for all of his outlandish actions. Many believed that the hit that caused him to lose it was from Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict, though, not Harrison. 

The hit took place during the 2016 AFC Wild card game. Burfict's hit paired with an Adam 'Pacman' Jones unsportsmanlike conduct penalty would put the Steelers in field goal range and allow them to beat Cincinnati. Brown would suffer a concussion that reportedly would've kept him out of the Super Bowl had the Steelers advanced that far. 

This is the first time anyone has ever claimed Harrison was using an illegal helmet. The NFL mandates and checks players' helmets and eventually, they retire certain models of helmets. This was one of the issues that Brown had in Oakland. Brown has been fighting an NFL policy that requires helmet certification according to industry standards. 

He lost a grievance against the NFL that sought an exception to wear his Schutt Air Advantage, a helmet he has worn throughout his career and that was available on the market between 2002 and 2009. Brown was caught painting his old Steelers helmets while trying to pass them off as approved helmets.

Now we will see how long it takes for Harrison to respond. Harrison is very active on social media and likely will come back to Brown soon. Stay tuned for more details on this wild accusation. 

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