What’s with all the buzz about the New England Patriots wide receiver, Antonio Brown? If you stay up to date on Twitter, you’ve probably heard that this is just not former New England Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown’s year. Shockingly, none of this has to do with his performance on the field.  

Many people know him as the man who wore #84 for the Pittsburg Steelers for the past few years and the majority of his career — a guy that has wowed the NFL while racking up 100 receptions and 1,200 yards receiving in the past six seasons. What can I say, ‘Business was boomin’. One interesting story is why he chose the number 84. Eight times four is 32, and in his mind, that reminds him of the 32 teams that looked past him. That’s just too bad because it seems like that still holds true in 2019. 

After the 2018 season, the Steelers and Brown had a mutual agreement that Brown would be traded to the Oakland Raiders. No one would say the specific reason for the separation, so it raised many questions.  

Then, 2019 training camp happened. Brown chose to miss training camp due to a helmet grievance. He wanted his old helmet, but it was no longer mandated by the NFL. The tantrums continued. A few weeks later, Brown confronted Raiders General Manager Mike Mayock.  

The Raiders fined Brown for his behavior by wiping out $29 million in guarantees over what would’ve been the next two years of his contract. This all resulted after Brown posted a letter Mayock had sent him showing the $54,000 in fines he would have to pay just for missing practice. As if it couldn’t get any worse, Brown also leaked a video of a conversation he previously had with his Head Coach, Jay Gruden. The Raiders had enough. Later that week, the Raiders released Brown in hopes of moving forward with their team. 

Then, the inevitable happened. Hours later, the New England Patriots picked up Brown on a one-year, $15-million contract with a $9–million signing bonus. Since Brown was not on the roster before 4 P.M. on September 7, he was not eligible to play in week one of the NFL season.  

“I’m not even a little shocked that the Patriots signed AB,” said Junior Ice Hockey player, Anthony Orubor. “It’s inevitable that the Patriots are the best team in football right now and he’s going to be make them scary good.” 

It was fate that the Patriots signed one of the best wide receivers in the NFL that just so happened to come with some baggage. Usually the Patriots can straighten up players because they are known for a winning over everything standard. But will Head Coach Bill Belichick and the Patriots have enough patience to deal with Brown’s big personality and looming storylines? 

Right when Brown had seemed to get just what he wanted, sexual assault allegations started appearing.  Brown’s former trainer, Brittney Taylor, claimed that he assaulted her on three different occasions, twice during training camp sessions in June of 2017 and once in 2018. Taylor was set to meet with the NFL on Monday, September 9 to start an internal investigation. There hasn’t been any word as to if Brown will be placed on the Commissioner’s Exempt list, which means pay without being allowed to play, but it is still a possibility.  

Another victim came forward soon after but with a less severe allegation. Since there is more than one allegation in question, it remains unknown as to if there are more victims that will come forward or if the Patriots have enough patience for it to get sorted out.  

Brown’s first game of the season was average for him — only totaling 56 yards and one touchdown. Though it was only his first game of the season, there’s so much more that he can do. 

When we think the Patriots will be the one team he has success with, we are wrong. On Friday, September 20, the New England Patriots announced they were releasing Brown and going in a different direction. Now this is bold for a team that is willing sign a player will great talent and put aside the drama that’s off the field.  

“I’m actually really surprised by all of it,” said Junior, Anthony Sottile. “Obviously, no team wants to deal with this much drama, but I thought it would all go away and Brown would play for the Patriots for the entire season.” 

Hard calls have to be made when a player’s issues off the field catch up to him. Brown is a great football player, don’t get me wrong, but it has gotten to the point where his personal issues outweigh his performance on the field. Brown has managed to be traded twice and released twice within the same year. Brown has also lost a huge deal with Nike. 

A big question lies ahead. Will another NFL team take a chance on Brown? Will he end up like Colin Kaepernick and never play another game of football?   

Let me know your thoughts in the comment box below because this is an issue worth talking about. How will the NFL handle the case? What if there isn’t enough proof of the allegations and all of this is for nothing? Looks like business isn’t boomin’ for AB at the moment and might never be. Antonio Brown tweeted September 22 that he will not be playing in the NFL anymore. Possibly we have seen the last of Antonio Brown. 

Sources: 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/vincentfrank/2019/09/11/antonio-brown-sexual-assault-allegations-what-we-know-right-now/#42f2d45d7223 

 https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2019/09/19/ab-no-longer-nike-athlete/