Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown is speaking out about his mental health following his firing by the team and on-field antics that went viral.
Brown shared his perspective with another former NFL wide receiver, Brandon Marshall. Based on AB’s comments, there is “nothing wrong” with his mental health.
His comments arrive several weeks after he made a dramatic exit from the Bucs’ game against the New York Jets. That included running through the endzone, stripping off some of his gear, and tossing his jersey to the crowd before leaving the venue.
He’s since commented about what happened and has been sharing some of what he’s been up to via his social media.
Antonio Brown speaks about Bucs firing, mental health
Antonio Brown appeared for a sit-down interview with Brandon Marshall for the I Am Athlete show. Also present were former NBA player Nick Young, and former 1st round NFL draft pick Jared Odrick, who spent seven years in the NFL.
A segment from the episode is available on YouTube where Marshall and Brown discuss his firing, and Marshall says how he would’ve handled things.
After sitting next to Brown, he asks him to play the part of head coach Bruce Arians, but Brown says they weren’t on the field. Marshall reminds everyone that the coach said “Get the f**k outta here” to Brown and made a throat slash hand gesture to him on the sidelines.
“I would’ve been like, ‘What the f**k you talkin’ about? You talking to me like that? You gotta see me in the locker room,'” Marshall said during the episode.
Marshall explained the objective should be to focus on being a Hall of Fame player and securing “another $40 million.” However, he said when Brown reacted how he did, it meant “they are in control now,” referring to the Bucs and the NFL.
When Odrick asked Marshall if he really would’ve handled things in that calm and collective manner, Brown interjected his thoughts.
“That’s where the mental health comes in,” Brown said, adding, “Everyone in the world got different forms of reactions of what happened to them, and it’s all based on where you from, how you feel, and no one gonna know that regardless of who you is.”
“So if we all players and we all saying we care about mental health why every time something happened bad or how someone react [it’s] ‘Oh he’s crazy. It’s something wrong with his mental health?'” Brown asked.
“It’s nothing wrong with my mental health. Someone told me to get the f**k out of here. I’m not passive-aggressive,'” Brown said, after explaining that’s he reacted to things differently.
He then asked Marshall a question before the episode closed.
“How do I protect my mental health and still keep my integrity to get what I want?” Brown asked.
After the incident, Brown indicated that head coach Bruce Arians asked him to go into the game despite Brown having a hurt ankle. He also said that both the coach and team knew of his injury. He later made a statement via his lawyer accusing the team of a “cover-up.”
Brown still enjoying life after NFL firing
Following his firing from the Bucs, Brown has been active on social media and popping around various celebrities. That included sitting courtside at a Brooklyn Nets game and hanging out with rapper Fabolous just one night after Brown dramatically left the football field.
Brown also shared dinner with Kanye West and Ye’s girlfriend Julia Fox and later appeared at the recording studio where Kanye had hip-hop star The Game there.
Speaking of recording, Brown released a song called Pit Not the Palace shortly after his firing. Based on the Source’s report, it’s not his first song, and he also has plans to release a full-length album in the future.
In addition, Brown popped up in a series of photos that Maddona shared, featuring Floyd Mayweather, Kanye, and Julia Fox.
Since his firing, Brown has been sharing some of his travels on his Instagram Story, showing himself flying in a private jet, and hanging out at the Los Angeles Lakers game on court with Lakers star Anthony Davis this past Wednesday evening.
Antonio Brown spent the first nine years of his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers before short stints with the Raiders and Patriots.
After joining the Tampa Bay Bucs in 2020 and participating in eight games, Brown won his first Super Bowl ring. He played in seven games during the 2021 NFL season for the Bucs before being fired.
Brown’s incident with the Bucs isn’t his first in his NFL career. Before the Bucs firing, the seven-time Pro Bowler also had situations with the Steelers, Raiders, and Patriots.
Antonio Brown’s full sit-down interview arrives Monday, January 24th, on the I AM ATHLETE YouTube page.