It has been two weeks since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers released wide receiver Antonio Brown following his recent outburst on the sidelines against the New York Jets.
This week on the “I Am Athlete” podcast, Brown said the incident, along with others from his past, had been classified as mental health issues. Brown told former NFL wide receiver Brandon Marshall that is not the case.
“Everyone in the world had a different way of reacting to what happened to me,” Brown explained. “And it’s all based on where you’re from, how you feel, and no one will really know, regardless of who you are. The thing about football players, mental health, and CTE is this: These guys are willing to do whatever it takes to make some forced gain. But in the midst of those gains, throughout that journey, they’re being mistreated, there’s a lot of things that happened that may not have been handled properly.
“And then you started your career high. It’s like a roller coaster. You go up, and then as soon as it’s going down, everyone leaves. … If every player and everyone says we care about mental health, why is it every time something goes wrong or someone reacts, ‘Oh, he’s crazy, there’s something wrong with his mental health,’” Brown asked. “There is nothing wrong with my mental health. Someone told me: ‘Get the (expletive) out of here’. I’m not passive-aggressive.”
in a new interview with HBO’s Bryant Gumbel, Brown accused the Bucs of mistreatment, claiming the organization offered him $200,000 to remain with the team while he underwent mental health treatment.
“These Bucs guys tried to cut a deal with me to give me $200,000 to go to the madhouse so these guys could look like they know what they’re talking about,” Brown said on the show.
Brown’s attorney, Sean Burstyn, said that in addition to compensation, the trustee would have entered “some list” while committing to intensive treatment. Burstyn said Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht told him next to him, twice, in writing, “don’t turn this around any other way.”
Brown has acknowledged mental health in the past. His father revealed in an interview with ESPN who attended therapy after his release from the New England Patriots in 2019 following two sexual assault allegations.
Brown’s lateral outburst was sparked after the star receiver refused to enter the game due to an ankle injury. Following his release from the Buccaneers, he has focused on rehabbing the injury and making music. He has recently been seen courtside at a Brooklyn Nets game and taking photos with Kanye West, Floyd Mayweather and Madonna.
Brown has said he intends to play next season. He expressed his desire to play for the Baltimore Ravens on the podcast alongside Marshall.
–Aron Yohannes
