From super pariah to Super Bowl 55: How Antonio Brown saved his career (for now)
Twelve months ago, Antonio Brown was not only without a job, but toxic and unhireable.
Teams were scared off both by his unreliability professionally — he forced his way out of Pittsburgh and Oakland within the span of a year — and his erratic behavior personally.
He had clear issues with anger management and self-restraint.
Criminal and civil issues mounted, and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was candid at his annual Super Bowl news conference last year about his concerns for Brown’s mental health.
“In Antonio’s situation, I think the first thing is, for all of us, to think about the well-being of Antonio,” Goodell said at the time. “... We don’t talk about the wellness of our players publicly, but I would tell you that you can be sure that the NFL and the NFLPA have a tremendous amount of resources that are available to all players. They are going to be made available to Antonio. We want to help get him on the right track, and get him in a position where he is in a zone where he thinks he can be successful in life. And we are confident that can happen.”
Has it? Too soon to say for sure. But Brown’s long-term outlook could hardly have improved more in the year since.
Brown, after serving an eight-game suspension for multiple violations of the league’s personal-conduct penalty, is again the topic of conversation at a Super Bowl.
But this time, he’s playing in it.
Brown appears to have saved his career in Tampa Bay, finding stability and support within a Buccaneers organization set to face the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday for an NFL championship.
“I just stayed disciplined, stayed dedicated to vision of whatever was my goals, in regards to getting back to this moment,” Brown said during a Zoom news conference with dozens of reporters from around the country Wednesday. “Doing all the right things.”
Brown continued: “It’s all about controlling your emotions, physically or mentally, when you don’t feel good. Not being a slingshot when others come at me. Learning how to control my attitude, not letting my emotions get the best of me, even if I feel someone was wrong in doing what they did. Just being forgiving, staying positive.”
Brown characterized the contract offer from the Buccaneers — a one-year, incentive-laden deal — as his “only chance” to prove to himself and the world that he remains a high-level player.
With 483 yards and four touchdowns on 45 catches in half a season, Brown has proved he can still play.
But we have written far too many of these redemption stories prematurely, only to look foolish later when the player in question backslides into old, destructive habits.
And yet so far, so good.
“I don’t have any predisposed notions of how things will go or how they should go. I just try to get to know everybody. I try to, in my own way, be a positive influence in their life. They’re a positive influence in my life,” Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady said. “Antonio and I connected right away. He has a great love for the game — just a real perfectionist for how he plays, how he takes care of himself. Incredible football IQ. And then, again, a great skillset just as a player. And, I think, made incredible strides over the last 12 months to get from where he was at to where he’s at now.”
Brown has been involved in a slew of off-the-field legal problems in South Florida during the past couple years.
He has been sued for throwing furniture off the balcony of a luxury Sunny Isles Beach condo he was renting, nearly hitting a man and his grandson. Brown settled the case in 2019.
Brown is also awaiting a South Florida civil trial after a former personal trainer accused him of sexual assault. The lawsuit spurred his release from the New England Patriots in 2019.
And Brown has had brushes with cops too.
He was arrested in January 2020 after a moving truck driver told police that Brown threw a rock at his vehicle, grabbed him and refused to pay money for damage to the truck outside his Hollywood Oaks home.
Brown accepted a plea deal in which he agreed to an anger management course, 100 hours of community service and probation.
In October, less than a week before signing with Tampa Bay, Brown was accused of destroying a surveillance camera at his gated community and slamming his bicycle on the mechanical arm at the security checkpoint. The incident was captured on surveillance video obtained by the Herald.
Hollywood police determined it had probable cause to arrest him for misdemeanor criminal mischief, but the homeowners association declined to press charges after Brown replaced the camera.
But the league never gave up on him. Talent always gets extra chances. And no doubt, Brown who has totaled 79 touchdowns and nearly 12,000 receiving yards in his 11-year NFL career, is talented.
“I think [Goodell] did a good job with the process of helping me and getting me to this point,” he said. “I’m super grateful about the opportunity to restart my career again. And do what I continue to love. And continue to fulfill my dream as a kid.”
He added: “A year and a half scrutiny. Adversity. You name it. I’ve been through it. But it didn’t stop me. It didn’t make me want to give up. I had to be persistent. I made a plan. I wrote out my goals. Set my intention on what I want out of my life. Took a step back and got refocused. Put out a plan and prayed on it. And went out and did it. I’m just grateful to be in this moment. But I know there is still a long way to go.”
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 3:20 PM with the headline "From super pariah to Super Bowl 55: How Antonio Brown saved his career (for now)."
