Stew: Brown growing further away from humble roots

For Antonio Brown, the concept of being an underdog is something he knows all too well.  Brown was picked 195th in the 2010 NFL Draft.  His jersey is a constant reminder of this.  He says, “8 times 4 is 32, and 32 teams looked past me, including the Steelers.”  Brown is now arguably the best receiver in football, but his humble roots in the NFL seem to be fading.

His newfound pride and apparent arrogance have become more and more evident as this season has progressed.  In the Steelers’ season opener, Brown scored two touchdowns.  After catching his second touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger, he tweaked in the end zone.  Brown was penalized on the play. He was not fined for this action but was fined for wearing baby blue cleats.

Three weeks later, after scoring against the Kansas City Chiefs, Brown made another “sexually suggestive” celebration.  This time Brown earned a fine of $24,309 and a fifteen yard excessive celebration penalty.  Whether the NFL has become a “No Fun League” is up for debate, but that conversation warrants a separate article.

That brings us to the hottest story in Pittsburgh sports at the moment. After a playoff win, against, coincidentally, the  Chiefs, Brown Facebook Live Streamed inside the locker room.  In the video, Mike Tomlin could be heard giving his post game speech, in which he called the New England Patriots a bunch of “a**holes."  I have no problem with the basic concept of streaming in the locker room.  That makes excitement for fans, and Antonio Brown has always been active on social media. His Snapchat account covers his day on a play by play level, and it is also worth noting that Facebook pays Antonio Brown nearly $250,000 “to create content” for live channels.    

That being said, there is a major issue with when he was doing the filming.  Let me be clear; I have never been in a football locker room or a football player for that regard. But if I was and my coach was giving a speech, especially after a playoff win, I would make sure I heard this speech.            

I think Brown is right when he wants to give back to the fans and show them “inside” information. But that information can’t be too inside, rather, just a stream of the team celebrating would do just fine. Any time the coach gives a post game speech, it would be best not to live stream it as you don’t know what is about to be said. But that’s not the problem here.  I think Antonio Brown knows that what I wrote above is true.  He just didn’t notice that there was a speech going on.  He was so wrapped up into “giving back” to his fans that he forgot that he is a football player.  

This issue and topic have been way overblown, but make no mistake; Brown won’t get too many “passes."  He better get his act together pretty soon or else the situation could not end well.  Just ask Santonio Holmes.