The Tampa Bay Pirates' seventeenth week away game against the New York Jets, which was expected to be a boring game in which the defending champions beat the weakers, did not expect the home team to start well, and at one point in the third quarter took a sharp lead of 24-10.
At this moment, there was a stunned scene in the pirates' player's seat: the receiver Antonio Brown took off the protective gear and threw it on the ground with his jersey attached, then he stripped off the gloves and lining and threw them into the stands, and then Brown trotted away bare-chested, jumping up and waving his arms to encourage the audience to make a loud noise as he passed the end zone. At this time, the two teams were still lined up on the field, watching the farce from a distance.
After the game, Pirates head coach Bruce Arians said bluntly that "Brown is no longer a Pirates player" and "never seen such a ridiculous thing in his career", and intends to end the topic and direct the interview to the content related to winning. Pressed by reporters, Arians reluctantly revealed that he had let Brown play twice in a row, but both were refused, so Arians ordered Brown to retire, and then he lost control.
The reason for the sudden onset of the former league's top receiver is unknown, but there is speculation that it is related to incentive bonuses. Brown's contract has a 1 million incentive bonus, counting the previous accumulated data, if he catches the ball eight more times can get a third, another 55 yards can get an additional third, and another touchdown can get the remaining third.
The Pirates were targeted 49 times in 10 times and Brown had 5 times aimed and three catches. When the Pirates tried to push quickly in the final two minutes of the first half, Brown, who was lined up on the right, pulled open space, but quarterback Tom Brady aimed at Mike Evans, who was on the far-reaching route on the left, resulting in a cutout. Judging from Brady's reading order, this tactic was not considered passed to Brown.
Brown has been the troublesome personality of the thorn head for a long time, and if brady had not admired it, he would not have had a chance to step into the pirate's door. Arians has a grudge against him, and the forgery of vaccination cards earlier this year further exacerbated the contradictions, playing with emotion, and Brown may become extremely sensitive to tactical choices, and if he does not get the desired ball, he may touch the needle in Brown's heart.
But even if all or part of the above speculations are true, Brown's exaggerated behavior is incomprehensible. Some sources revealed that Brown was not pressed on the cold bench at that time, which also coincided with what Arians said in the interview that "he was asked to play". With a small half to play, plus the eighteenth week of the game, Brown has every opportunity to brush up on the number of incentive clauses, and exiting the game will not only not get the incentive, but also risk ruining his career.
According to videos captured by fans at the scene, Evans and mid-ranger OJ Howard tried to persuade Brown to calm down until the last moments, but still couldn't stop his "performance".
Under Brady's dominance, the pirates achieved a big reversal in the last minute, but this had nothing to do with Brown. Brady still can't hide his regret for Brown in the post-game interview: "We like him, care about him very much, hope he's all right, it's a pity he's not our teammate anymore." Brady also said his friendship with Brown would not be affected and that he would encourage people around him to help him.
LeVion Bell, a runback who had just joined the Pirates, contacted Brown immediately after the game, and he defended his old teammates from the Pittsburgh Steelers: "I understand that some things happen quickly, he is my good friend, in general he is a good person, sometimes people make bad decisions, he is human after all, people are always imperfect. Even without him, we would now move on. Good luck to him. ”
Instead of returning to Tampa Bay with the team's charter flight, Brown posted photos on his personal social media, including two commercial promotional images and a match photo in a pirate jersey, with the caption "Big MAD (Making A Difference) Thanks for the opportunity."
After the injury of Chris Goodwin, one of the Pirates' main external double walls, Brown's once precarious position suddenly had hope again, and if he could play at the right level, coupled with Brady's preference for him, Brown had great hopes of improving his tactical position and moving towards the back-to-back Super Bowl. As a result, everything was inexplicably buried by him, and even his career ended completely at the moment he took off his armor.