The Pittsburgh Steelers hit the drama jackpot when they drafted Antonio Brown in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Brown dazzled Steeler Nation, as well as football fans everywhere. He became loved, respected, and coveted for his hard work, dedication, and fun-loving attitude.
WRGB
Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver, Antonio Brown.
However, near the end of his time in black and gold, small cracks began to form and his behavior grew more erratic and more concerning.
Almost immediately, as if Pittsburgh was the thing holding him together, Brown started sliding downhill. Reports of abusive behavior, threats, refusal to follow team rules, walking off the field, and nearly constant combative messages being sent against anyone who disagreed with him.
Now Brown has left the NFL, or has been refused admission back in depending on your perspective, but he has found another way to stay involved. Brown is co-owner of an arena football team, the Albany Empire, in Albany, New York. Brown and his father, Eddie Brown, have a connection to the team. The senior Brown played for them when they were the Albany Firebirds in the 1990's.
Brown and his father have both expressed a lot of emotions over returning "home." Albany has won the past two Arena League Championships and the new ownership configuration hopes to be able to build upon that and continue the team's success.
Former Steelers WR Antonio Brown Is Making Waves In Albany
Of course, nothing can be that easy when Brown is involved.
Brown has recently been in the news for being sued by a jeweler to the stars, Shuki International. The jeweler claims that he made about $1.1 million worth of jewelry for Brown and he did not pay for it. Part of the custom jewelry is a pair of diamond "fingers." Now Brown can be seen wearing one of the diamond fingers in his latest dramatic event.
Shuki Diamonds Instagram Page
Jeweler to the stars Shuki shows off his trademark "Shuki Diamond fingers," Antonio Brown reportedly bought two sets.
A new video was posted by Brown on his social media pages, showing that he was asked to leave the field prior to the start of the game. Brown gloats in the tweet that he kept his professionalism while dealing with security.
"Still I maintained a level of professionalism positivity while dealing with this security today! First Game AS AN Owner #StayEncouraged"
This would lead someone who was about to watch the minute-long clip to think they were going to see Brown being treated unfairly by security. The opposite is true. In fact, it is hard to understand how Brown feels vindicated by this video. Of course, it is only fair to note that viewers only see a short clip, what happened prior to Brown being asked to leave is not on there.
In the video, Brown is standing in the arena, shaking hands with fans when a security guard comes up and requests he leaves the field. Brown appears to ignore him at first, so he asks again. Brown continues shaking hands. You can hear someone off-camera say, "He owns it." The guard responds, "No he doesn't."
The guard approaches Brown again and asks him to leave the field. Brown again refuses.
"I ain't going nowhere."
The guard responds back.
"You're going off the field right now."
Brown then gets really ramped up.
"Make me then, you get off (the field), you get off. I'm going to stand right here. Let's see your power."
The guard responds, "Let's go. Let's go. You gonna disrupt the whole game?"
Brown snaps back at him, "This is my field. I'm the owner."
The guard says, "No, I don't think so."
Brown turns back around at the guard.
"Go get your people, you get off. You get off. I'll stay right here and let's see who's got the biggest muscles."
ESPN
Antonio Brown strips off his uniform and leaves the field in dramatic fashion after a disagreement during the Tampa Bay game.
The clip ends prior to knowing how the incident was resolved. However, it is safe to say that a resolution was somehow found because Albany went on to beat the Orlando Predators 70-33.
This incident is just the latest in a long, sad, string of encounters involving Brown where he clearly does not understand the impact of his behaviors. The fact that he thinks he handled the situation well is disturbing.
One young man in the crowd summed it up for most of us.
"AB, you menace!"
What do you make of Brown's latest antics? Does he have the right to just circumvent the rules? Why do you think he thinks he was so "professional" when he openly challenged the guard to a physical confrontation? Give us your thoughts by clicking to comment below.
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