Feb. On January 12, 2019, Antonio Brown publicly announced that he wanted to divorce the Steelers.
Feb. On January 12, 2020, after a tumultuous 52 weeks that included intense criticism of his former team, Brown publicly apologized to Ben Roethlisberger, his quarterback during his nine-year career in Pittsburgh.
brown, whose off-field struggles led him to play just one game last season, has issued several public apologies in the past two weeks. Last Wednesday, Brown apologized to Roethlisberger and the entire Steelers organization during an appearance on 93.7 The Fan.
“These guys gave me a chance when I was 21, and I’m forever grateful,” said Brown, who ranks second in franchise history in career receptions, yards and touchdowns. “I had the opportunity to not only play for those guys, but to be in so many incredible moments. (We’ve) been through a lot.
“I’m forever grateful and indebted to the steelers organization. mr. rooney, mike tomlin, kevin colbert, ben roethlisberger. i started my career with those guys. lots of beautiful moments, lots of positives, so not everything is bad. I just think, from an emotional standpoint, when things got bad, they seemed bad. We had a lot more good times than bad.”
during the interview, brown spoke specifically about his prior relationship with roethlisberger, who threw him 74 of the first 75 touchdown receptions of his career. previously, brown said roethlisberger was part of the reason he wanted out of pittsburgh. Now, it appears that Brown regrets those comments and his decision to leave the organization.
“We had a real heart-to-heart, (we tried) to work it out,” Brown said of the end of his time in Pittsburgh. “but i think there was too much stuff piling up that it was too late. i hate ben? no. i love ben? yes. ben is a great guy, a great person, a great quarterback. all the frustration we had could removed. out.”
Though they had a rocky end to their partnership (at least on a personal note), Brown and Roethlisberger enjoyed the best QB-WR connection in the NFL over the past decade. With Roethlisberger as his quarterback, Brown led the NFL in receptions, yards, and touchdowns over a six-year span. Brown also became the first player in NFL history to catch 100 passes in six consecutive seasons that included 136 receptions in 2015. In turn, Roethlisberger earned four straight Pro Bowl selections from 2014-2017 while cementing his place as future hall of fame quarterback. In 2018, his last season as teammates, Brown led the NFL with 15 touchdown receptions, while Roethlisberger had 5,129 yards to pass Patrick Mahomes for the league passing title.
Like Brown, Roethlisberger barely saw the field in 2019, as an elbow injury in Week 2 forced Big Ben to undergo season-ending surgery. Roethlisberger, who has two years left on his current contract, is reportedly looking to return for the start of the Steelers’ offseason.
While brown has been saying all the right things, fans are probably wondering whether or not brown is being sincere, or just trying to get back into the nfl. Time will ultimately answer that question, as Brown will likely have to display a steady series of appropriate behavior before NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will consider having Brown return to his league anytime soon.
goodell, during his annual super bowl press conference, spoke about brown and the obstacles he faces regarding his return to the league. The league is investigating civil sexual assault and rape allegations against Brown along with threatening text messages Brown sent to another accuser during his brief time with the Patriots. Brown is also less than a month away from spending a night in jail after an altercation with a moving company. Brown was held on $110,000 bond and ordered to receive a mental health evaluation.
“In Antonio’s situation, I think the first thing is, for all of us, to think about Antonio’s well-being,” goodell said of the league’s ongoing investigation into brown, via nfl.com. “To understand what Antonio is going through. We don’t speak publicly about the well-being of our players, but I would tell you that you can be sure that the NFL and the NFLPA have a tremendous amount of resources that are available to all players. They will put available to antonio. we want to help put you on the right path and put you in a position where you are in a zone where you believe you can be successful in life. and we are sure that can happen.. we want to work to do that and from our point of view that’s the first step. The first step is to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to help Antonio.”
brown, during the interview with 93.7 the fan, said that he is now surrounding himself with people who are focused on helping him improve his mental health. Brown also continues to train in hopes of landing on an NFL roster soon.
“I’ve been talking to my therapist,” he said. “I’ve been talking to people who don’t have agendas, people who just let me express myself and listen and don’t give me feedback on what they’re trying to achieve. I’ve been talking to people who are focused on my mental health.”