That didn’t take long. Literally just days after he took to Twitter to very strongly imply that he was done with the NFL, former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver and Oakland Raiders pain in the ass Antonio Brown this time used Instagram to let it be known that he wants to play again—and that the NFL needs to let it happen.
On Monday, he wrote that, “at this point the risk is greater than the reward”, after asking if it was “time to walk away”, wrapping things up by citing Julius Caesar while concluding that his mission was complete. And then he posted a long Instagram rant demanding that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell conclude their investigation into his behavior, which many believe has been the obstacle preventing teams from showing interest in him.
@nfl I have complied with each and every ask of your investigations throughout the past 11 months. You have had access to all of my phones, you know what the deal is in each and every situation that the media has distorted. I have been seeing the therapist you asked me to, I have worked on all aspects of my life this past year and have become a better man because of it. The fact that you refuse to provide a deadline and the reason for the fact you won’t resolve your investigations is completely unacceptable. I demand you provide me clarity on this situation immediately if you really care about my wellbeing. My legal team continues to ask and you provide no answers. How is it that the league can just drag it’s feet on any investigation it chooses on players and we just have to sit there in limbo? Need an update so I can talk to these teams properly, they’re waiting on you @nfl let’s get this thing moving! We’ve got history to make!! #Himmothy
I don’t know or want to know what ‘Himmothy’ is, but he does have a fair point about the fact that the NFL should be working to conclude their investigation. It seems apparent that they are intentionally using it as a deterrent from teams expressing interest in him, knowing that he could be thrown on the Commissioner’s Exempt List as soon as he was signed.
This is the closest to reasonableness and lucidity that Brown has approached in some time, and I agree with him that he has a right to a concluded investigation. If the NFL doesn’t want him in the league, it can attempt to ban him, which Brown would then be in his rights to challenge.
In spite of his troubling off-field downward spiral, his on-field talent has long been undeniable, accomplishing things within a nine-year span that only Jerry Rice and Calvin Johnson have done. Six consecutive 100-catch seasons is just the most eye-catching of his accomplishments when nobody else has ever done it more than three times in a row.
