The Descent of Antonio Brown

Fifteen receiving touchdowns in 15 games. 1,297 receiving yards. And another Pro Bowl appearance.  Last year, Antonio Brown was one of the best Wide Receivers in the NFL and was well on his way to being inducted in the hall of fame. This year, however, has been a whole different story. Within the past month, he has been on two teams and was released by both of them. And now, he is being accused of sexual assault. Some may say that AB’s career is over for good. So what led AB to where he is today? How could one of the best NFL players put his future career in turmoil in such little time?

A woman who identified as his ex-trainer accused Brown of rape, according to a federal lawsuit filed in the Southern District of Florida. The lawsuit says that Brown, in three separate incidents, two in June 2017 and another in May 2018 sexually assaulted a woman named Britney Taylor, a gymnast he met while attending Central Michigan and whom he later hired as a trainer. After the news came out, the Patriots decided that they had enough and released him.

Brown has been an elite Wide Receiver in the league for quite some time. He started his NFL career in Pittsburgh, where he played nine seasons and was named to the Pro Bowl in seven of those seasons. However, after the 2018 season, Brown insisted a trade. In the 2018 offseason, Brown was traded to the Raiders but sat out most of training camp with a foot injury. New NFL safety rules prevented Brown from using his prefered helmet model. The future of AB is still unknown, as Brown turned to Twitter to say “Will not be playing in the @NFL anymore these owners can cancel deals do whatever they want at anytime we will see if the @NFLPA hold them accountable.” He also announced on Twitter that he returned to taking classes at the university of Central Michigan, his alma mater. However, reports from Brown’s agent Drew Rosenhaus said that he has been in talks with multiple teams.