B8 N THE NEW YORK TIMES SPORTSTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019
he wants to be a Raider and
urges him to “just play football.”
Gruden reportedly is amused by
the incident.Patriots
Sept. 7 According to reports, the
Raiders, using language in
Brown’s contract about behavior
and discipline, void the money
guaranteed to the receiver. As a
result, Brown demands to be
released in an Instagram post.
The Raiders oblige, leaving them
with nothing for the two draft
picks they sent to the Steelers.
Within hours, Brown agrees to
a one-year deal with the Super
Bowl champion New England
Patriots that guarantees him
around $9 million. Once again it
seemed that Brown would go
back to making news primarily
on the field.
Sept. 10Brown is accused in a
lawsuit filed in federal court of
sexually assaulting and raping a
woman who worked as his
trainer in 2017. He denies the
allegations through a statement
from his lawyers. The league
announces plans to investigate
the matter.
Sept. 11Brown participates in his
first practice with the Patriots.
Following practice, Matthew
Slater, a team captain, briefly
addresses reporters about the
situation.
“Very sensitive manner, and
don’t want to minimize it at all,”
Slater says. “But that being said,
I certainly don’t think that I
should be speaking on it, or I’m
qualified to speak on it, because I
don’t have any knowledge of the
situation.”
Brown’s agent, Drew Rosen-
haus, addresses the issue in an
interview with ESPN.
“I’m advising him to let the
truth come out,” Rosenhaus says.
“I’m advising him to concentrate
on football. I’m advising him to
cooperate with the Patriots, with
the N.F.L., with the N.F.L. Play-
ers Association. Antonio and I
both strongly believe that these
allegations are very serious. In
no way do we condone any type
of illegal conduct/misbehavior.
None of that happened here.”
The Miami-Dade State Attor-
ney’s Office also issues a state-
ment about the incident in terms
of whether or not the accusations
had been reported. It reads, “As
criminal prosecutors, we always
encourage all victims of sexual
assaults to report these matters
to the police for proper investiga-
tion. Having reviewed our
records, we found no prior police
investigative contacts regarding
these allegations or these indi-
viduals.”
The Steelers release a state-
ment saying the team had no
knowledge of the incidents.Antonio Brown has become
the most prominent wide receiv-
er in the N.F.L., though not solely
for his elite playmaking. Once an
unheralded walk-on at Central
Michigan, Brown became a sev-
en-time Pro Bowler and a four-
time All-Pro selection over the
course of nine seasons with the
Pittsburgh Steelers, the Oakland
Raiders and now the New Eng-
land Patriots.
But that career has been char-
acterized as much by his
rankling behavior as by other-
worldly catches. And the pace at
which Brown has made news for
his conduct has accelerated over
the past month, with incidents
involving a cryogenic chamber, a
dispute over a helmet, and trade
demands made via social media.
This week, a lawsuit accusing
him of sexual assault and rape
was filed in federal court.
It is unclear if he will be play-
ing in the Patriots’ next game, in
Miami against the Dolphins on
Sunday — the N.F.L. has begun
an investigation — but he prac-
ticed on Wednesday.
Here’s how Brown’s career has
unfolded:
Central Michigan
2007-09Brown walks on at Cen-
tral Michigan, where he plays
well enough in relative obscurity,
averaging 1,000 yards receiving
a season, to get on the radar of
the N.F.L.
Steelers
2010 Brown is not considered to
be one of the top receivers in the
draft and is taken in the sixth
round by the Steelers. In all, 22
receivers were drafted ahead of
Brown.
2010-16After a quiet rookie
season, Brown proves to be a
steal, turning into one of the
game’s greatest receivers. He
makes the Pro Bowl in 2011 as a
returner, then six more times in
subsequent seasons as a receiv-
er. He leads the league in recep-
tions twice and catches more
than 100 passes for more than
1,000 yards six years in a row.
But there are a few incidents. In
2012, he is penalized and fined
for running into the end zone
backward for a touchdown. In
2015, he was fined for a touch-
down celebration that involved
straddling the goal post, and in
2016 for celebrating by twerking
and, three weeks later, for thrust-
ing his pelvis.
But those flamboyant celebra-
tions earned him fans who vo-
cally criticized those fines, help-
ing to lead the way for the league
to loosen its strict rules on cele-
brations.
2017-18Although he continues to
catch passes and score touch-
downs, including a league-lead-
ing 15 in 2018, Brown’s relation-
ships in Pittsburgh take a turn
for the worse. He posts a video of
a locker room celebration that
includes Coach Mike Tomlin
making profane remarks about
an opponent, violating the
league’s social media policy. (It
would not be the last time online
postings get him into trouble.) In
his last year with the Steelers, he
feuds with quarterback Ben
Roethlisberger and ends up
sitting out the regular-season
finale — with a playoff berth
potentially on the line — because
of a dispute with the team about
whether or not his knee was
injured and his subsequent ab-
sence from practice.Raiders
March 2019After saying it is time
to move on, and openly cam-
paigning to attract teams he
would prefer to be traded to,
Brown is sent to the Raiders for
third- and fifth-round picks. He
signs a three-year extension with
about $30 million guaranteed.
Aug. 3Brown posts a picture of
his badly blistered feet, which
are keeping him from practicing
during training camp. Newsemerges that Brown’s feet were
injured when he entered a cryo-
genic therapy chamber, in which
temperatures below minus-200
Fahrenheit are supposed to be
therapeutic, without proper
footwear.
Aug. 12Brown loses a grievance
about his helmet. He was still
missing practices, in part be-
cause he wanted to continue
wearing his decade-old helmet,
which is no longer approved by
the league because of new safety
standards. He eventually found a
replacement.
Sept. 4After the Raiders fine him
$54,000 for missing practices,
Brown posts a picture of the
letter informing him of the fines
online. His caption reads: “When
your own team want to hate but
there’s no stopping me now devil
is a lie.”
Brown then gets into an alter-
cation with the letter’s author,
Raiders General Manager Mike
Mayock. Reports in several news
media outlets suggest that
Brown threatened to punch
Mayock.
Sept. 5Brown publicly apolo-
gizes, leading some to speculate
the dispute had blown over. “I’m
excited to be a part of the
Raiders and see you guys soon,”
he said.
Sept. 6Brown posts a video on
YouTube that includes what
appears to be a recording of a
phone conversation with Coach
Jon Gruden, who asks Brown ifJOE SARGENT/GETTY IMAGESFrom Walk-On to All-Pro to Polarizing
By VICTOR MATHERTop, Antonio Brown engaging in a memorable touchdown cele-
bration as a Steeler. Above, Brown (27) catching a two-point con-
version when he was an unheralded receiver at Central Michigan.
AL GOLDIS/ASSOCIATED PRESSBen Shpigel and Kevin Draper
contributed reporting.
him to cooperate with the Patriots,
with the N.F.L., with the N.F.L.
Players Association. Antonio and
I both strongly believe that these
allegations are very serious. In no
way do we condone any type of il-
legal conduct, misbehavior. None
of that happened here.”
Late Tuesday night, the Patriots
issued a statement saying that the
N.F.L. planned to do its own inves-
tigation of the accusations.
The league, after mishandling
reports of violence against women
in the past, strengthened its per-
sonal conduct policy in 2014 —
when some prominent players, in-
cluding the running back Ray
Rice, were charged with abuse or
domestic violence, then later sus-
pended. But enforcement of the
policy remains complicated, with
the league meting out punish-
ments that appear inconsistent
and struggling to get the coopera-
tion of those involved.
Brown practiced Wednesday
with the New England Patriots,
who officially signed him on Mon-
day, two days after he was re-
leased by the Oakland Raiders.
But he has not commented pub-
licly on the allegations, and re-
maining silent — no provocative
Instagram stories or elaborately
produced videos — must be sap-
ping his willpower.
Brown’s talent granted him cer-
tain privileges that were not ex-
tended to teammates who did not
regularly catch 100 passes or
score 10 touchdowns per season.
And as well as any superstar, he
has leveraged his superior pro-
duction to his advantage and for
everyone’s entertainment.
Whether co-starring in a Drake
video or flouting fines for yet an-
other instantly memed touch-
down celebration, Brown has cul-
tivated a following that strains to
see what he can possibly do next.
Brown has a penchant for mak-
ing things public that should oth-
erwise stay private, without the
slightest compunction. Whether
that means an Instagram post of a
letter from the Raiders saying he
would be fined nearly $54,000 for
missing practices or, later, de-
manding on the platform that
Oakland cut him, or releasing a
YouTube video containing snip-
pets of a phone call with his
Raiders Coach Jon Gruden,
Brown appears to relish defying
the football standard for propriety.
He has circumvented main-
stream news outlets to dispense
his point of view, shaping how he
is perceived in a league vigilant
about suppressing individuality.
In a different light, it’s an expres-
sion of self-determination, follow-
ing a pattern dating to his time in
Pittsburgh, where he spent the
first nine seasons of his career.
Brown was benched for the Steel-
ers’ final 2018 regular-season
game for insubordination, and af-
terward continued trying to force
his way out, despite being under
contract.
The Steelers, weary of his an-
tics, traded him in March to Oak-
land, where last week, after a cha-
otic six months, he engineered hisexit from that team, too.
On a 53-man roster, not all play-
ers are treated the same. The
more talented a player, the more
leeway he generally has. But ev-
ery franchise has its threshold for
lenience and embarrassment, and
two in the last six months reached
theirs with Brown.
Now it is New England’s turn to
manage him, and under Coach Bill
Belichick the Patriots have dem-
onstrated a profound enthusiasm
for acquiring players whose be-
havior warded off other teams.
The Patriots do so, again and
again, because they are confident
that their structure and leader-ship can coax exemplary sports-
manship and meaningful contri-
butions, while also rehabilitating
images in need of repair. Those
who can conform, who can subju-
gate their egos for the greater
good of the team, will thrive.
Those who cannot will not last.
It is far too early to know how
Brown will adjust in New Eng-
land, where he will dress two lock-
ers from quarterback Tom Brady
and where the Patriots, as ever,
operate in the day-to-day tedium
that has taken them to nine Super
Bowls, and six championships, in
18 seasons.
The Patriots will function, as
they always do, inside the Beli-
chick bunker, where Brown has
landed, willfully, and gained yet
another opportunity because of
his aptitude for catching a ball and
running with it: a one-year deal
with what might be the best team
in football.
Over the weekend, when news
broke that Brown would be sign-
ing with New England, he posted
six times to Instagram. His last
message, fired off maybe 48 hours
before the lawsuit was filed,
reads: “FIGHT FOR WHAT YOU
KNOW IS RIGHT.” It was liked
more than 220,000 times.Accusation Puts
Harsh Spotlight
On Brown and Pats
From First Sports PagePatriots Coach Bill Belichick
faced questions Wednesday
about Antonio Brown.
STEVEN SENNE/ASSOCIATED PRESSBy gleefully defying
propriety, a receiver
gains notoriety.
Thursday’s N.F.L. Matchup
By BENJAMIN HOFFMAN
Buccaneers at Panthers,8:20 p.m. Eastern, NFL Network
Line: Panthers -7 | Total: 48.5There is a distinct possibility that
defensive end Gerald McCoy will
be doing his best impersonation of
Charles Jefferson, Forest Whita-
ker’s character in “Fast Times at
Ridgemont High,” when McCoy’s
Panthers (0-1) host his former
team, the Buccaneers (0-1). Mc-
Coy’s nine-year tenure in Tampa
Bay ended when the Bucs’ new
head coach, Bruce Arians, declared
him not as disruptive as he once
was and proceeded to release him.
Things only went south from there,
with even Warren Sapp openly
questioning if McCoy had a legacythat could justify his complaints.
Asked how he views his legacy
in Tampa Bay, McCoy proved to be
a bit playful.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Ask
Warren Sapp.”
But even if McCoy can get to
quarterback Jameis Winston, will
that be enough to balance out the
rest of a Panthers defense that was
exposed last week in a loss to the
Rams? A more likely outcome is a
narrow Panthers victory followed
by some questioning of whether
the pairing of Arians and WinstonThe Panthers’ Gerald McCoy and the Rams’ Austin Blythe. is working. PICK:Buccaneers +7
MIKE MCCARN/ASSOCIATED PRESSPRO FOOTBALL
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