Fed Up Fans in Albany Say They Won’t Pay to See AB Play
10 years of chaos
The behavior should come as no surprise to anyone who is even remotely familiar with the antics of former star NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown over the last 10 years or so.
Widely considered one of the game's great players, Brown played in the NFL for 12 seasons as a member of the Steelers, Buccaneers, and Patriots. Before derailing a possible Hall of Fame caliber career, AB had 928 catches for 12,291 yards and scored 88 touchdowns, to go along with 187 punt returns for 1,761 yards.
Brown, the son of former Albany Firebirds great "Touchdown" Eddie Brown, was selected to play in 7 Pro Bowls and even won a title with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020.
Brown played briefly in 2021 but was released by Bucs after stripping off his uniform and running off of the field during a game against the New York Jets.
Brown, already part of the Albany Empire ownership teams says he'll play
On March 2, 2023, Brown announced his retirement from professional football but then unretired from it back in April when he said he'd be willing to suit up and play for the Empire, the arena team he has a 95% ownership stake in.
Troubles on and off the field
AB's off-the-field issues have been well chronicled going back to his early playing days. But it's really been ramped up over the last few years; legal battles over child support, domestic allegations, a COVID falsification, and even recent accusations from players (and partners) about not getting paid haven't slowed down the AB train.
It's far from the type of sports story we love, it's become the trainwreck we can't turn away from.
Meanwhile, a once proud franchise that won 2 championship rings titles over the last 3 years, has become a TMZ three-ring-circus, with Antonio Brown as its wacky ringleader.
Is Antonio Brown suiting up this weekend?
With a franchise in dire straights, the only skill-set Brown seems to possess as the owner is his ability to play, which he's hinted at on more than a few occasions.
Would you pay to watch Antonio Brown play?
We posed the question on our GNA Facebook page and the post garnered over a hundred responses, many of them casual to moderate football fans well aware of AB and his antics.
While the reasons varied, an overwhelming number of fans have become disenchanted with the chaos surrounding Brown.
Over 90% of those who responded said that they would NOT pay money to see him play.
But it wasn't all doom and gloom.
A few diehards who commented said they'd support the team no matter who runs it, but the vast majority would be happy if Brown used his 4.4 speed to hightail it out of town!
Here are just a few of the comments from our WGNA Facebook: