AB’s Exit

1.3.22

Antonio Brown

As 2022 enters, Antonio Brown has exited as a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, and likely, from the NFL. During the third quarter of a game against the New York Jets, at the Jets stadium, Antonio Brown ditched his uniform and ran across the field, waving to fans goodbye, as he exited the stadium. Exactly what caused this is currently in question, but there are a lot of ideas.

Videos of fans from all angels of the stadium at the game have gone viral, showcasing AB’s exit. It is the third quarter of the game, and the Bucs are loosing to the Jets, 24-10. You can see AB start to attempt to take off his jersey, and Mike Evans runs over, trying to calm him down. It does not work, and AB takes off his jersey, shoulder pads, gloves, and under shirt, and tosses them into the stands. While both teams are on the field, getting ready to snap the ball, AB runs across the end-zone, jumping up and down, and waving goodbye to fans. He heads to the locker room, and makes his exit.

It seems that something had to have triggered AB, for him to make the dramatic exit in which he did. Many reports say that the coach had attempted to get AB to go into the game, and he had refused. Though, I am not sure this would have been the case. He was on the field earlier in the game, 3 receptions out of 5 targets, and had a great game the game prior as well, with just over 100 yards. AB had just came off of a few games suspension for allegedly having a fake vaccination card, so he should have been excited to continuing showcasing his skills. Especially, since he was very close to hitting his stat goals for bonuses on the season.

Upon AB’s departure from the game, he shared several posts across social media, as well as a hip-hop song across all music platforms. The first post, was a photo in his outfit of the day, with the caption “Super Gremlin.” This alludes to a Kodak Black song, and suggesting his behavior is that of a gremlin/rebellion way. Next, a Fashion Nova Men ad - we’ll see how long the sponsorship plays out. AB captioned the ad “Football is what we do, not who we are!” A little preview, that he is more ‘More Than An Athlete.’ After that, a photo of AB in a Bucs uniform, seemingly dropping the football like a ‘mic drop’ and captioning it, “Thank you for the opportunity.”

The exit was loud and clear, and if that was not enough, he also released a hip-hop track titled, ‘Pit Not the Palace.’ It is interesting to think if all of this was planned, or if this was all off of intense emotion as everything progressed. The track describes the hardships that AB made it to, to make it to the NFL, go through more hardships, and come back and continue to do numbers. Many from the industry are continuing to support AB, including 50 Cent who shared the artwork to his new single, and French Montana who changed his Instagram Profile Picture to AB on the field.

The coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Bruce Arians, stated after the game that Antonio Brown is no longer a member of the Bucs, as if anyone had any question. However, during Tom Brady’s press conference, he spoke on their friendship beyond football, and how everyone should feel compassion and empathy for Brown’s behavior. He has had a tricky and problematic past, but many are calling out the signs of CTE.

This will likely be the end of AB’s career as an NFL player, and I do not believe the hip-hop thing will catch on. Hopefully, we can figure out how to best take care of the CTE situation, and find a better route for AB, and all other athletes experiencing similar problems and injuries.