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Antonio Brown is going viral, once again, for his off-field antics. This time, AB was heard rambling on in a bizarre third-person rant while speaking on his purchase and future with the Albany Empire.
The former NFL wideout touched on a number of things, most of which involved his claims as a city savior, while also teasing another return to the field.
Brown has been out of the NFL since 2022 when he stormed off the field shirtless in the middle of a game between the Jets and Bucs. After that bizarre exit, he seemingly went off the rails.
Brown was seen exposing himself in a public pool in Dubai, being issued an arrest warrant, taking unjust shots at Tom Brady, insinuating that he slept with Gisele Bundchen, and undertaking a rap career.
Oh, and he also became part owner of an arena football team.
Apparently, he believes that purchase saved the city of Albany, though he states that the community hasn’t shown AB the love he deserves for his heroics. He went off about his future with the team in an absolutely unhinged interview this week.
On his potential return to football…
Here’s Brown’s answer to whether or not he’s been cleared by @NALFootball. He references the stories about the former players who complained about lack of payment, adding he still has yet to talk to AB, and that he, Antonio Brown, hopes to be paid. pic.twitter.com/qnZ4OQ9xGf
— Griffin Haas (@Griffin__Haas) June 14, 2023
“I don’t know if I’ve gotten clearance from the league. I cost too much to even be in this league. I’m trying to see if AB is gonna pay me for playing… I’m Antonio Brown and I wanna know if AB is gonna pay me the money for playing. A lot of guys talk about AB not paying them… I wanna know if AB is gonna pay me the $1M I’m due.”
When you get past the third-person point of view and his split personalities, you realize that Brown is referencing the reports that he didn’t pay his players after a game, resulting in many leaving the team.
But wait, there’s more…
After swiping a microphone from a news crew member, Brown asked, “Did you know AB saved the Albany Empire?… He saved the city.”
Here’s Brown’s answer to whether or not he’s been cleared by @NALFootball. He references the stories about the former players who complained about lack of payment, adding he still has yet to talk to AB, and that he, Antonio Brown, hopes to be paid. pic.twitter.com/qnZ4OQ9xGf
— Griffin Haas (@Griffin__Haas) June 14, 2023
After briefly forgetting which persona he was supposed to be, he got back on track. “I’m excited to be here. This is AB, I mean Antonio Brown… We’ve got a lot of exciting things planned for the community… I see a lot of homeless people out there, a lot of sick people, that need to come out, come together, come in the arena and create environments for the community to celebrate… If you say anything about AB, he’s doing a lot for the community.”
He wasn’t quite done yet. He again teased a return to the field as he continued to ramble. When asked about that return, he said the following.
Before their game on May 27th, Brown said he was going to suit up and play. When gameday rolled around, Brown did not play. His physical wasn’t cleared in time, but as an owner he could have played anyway. @TommyVtine116 asked Brown why fans should believe he’ll play this time. pic.twitter.com/F2uiwqnPI5
— Griffin Haas (@Griffin__Haas) June 14, 2023
“I don’t want to talk about the minutia, what’s behind us, what fans should believe. The fans should believe that AB saved Albany Empire football. You wouldn’t have football if it wasn’t for AB… Antonio Brown is here at practice and he’s taking all the proper procedures to play.”
Brown then bashed the city that he supposedly saved while offering free tickets to fans.
“I want all the fans to know, I’m giving out free tickets, free everything. I’m $2.5M in the city that hasn’t even come out to show support.”
He then reeled off a list of excuses as to why he didn’t play on his original return date before bragging more about his wealth.
Continued, with Brown saying this will be the last year in the @NALFootball for the @thealbanyempir, and that they’ll be heading to the @OfficialAFL. pic.twitter.com/Ssa7r82jJa
— Griffin Haas (@Griffin__Haas) June 14, 2023
“Not a lot of owners have the type of money to even be in this league, so let’s get that killed,” he said, not that anyone was asking. He then went back to talking about all the good that he believes he’s doing.
“You think I care what a player says about me? I’m giving these guys jobs. I’m giving people careers. I’m giving people the opportunity to live out their dreams.”
Even for AB, this is off the wall. One last thing of interest, he did note that this would be the Empire’s final year in the NAL. He wants to make the jump to the AFL.
He might not have a choice now that his team’s been booted from the National Arena League.