There’ve been SO many displays of our kick breakdowns in sports: men & women, players & coaches, that it’s hard to recount ‘em all.
George Brett to Allen Iverson. Mike Gundy to Wally Backman. John McEnroe to Brittney Griner. Tie Domi to Terrell Owen. Randy Moss to Serena Williams. There’ve be SO many public displays of meltdowns in sports – men & women, players & coaches, that it’s hard to recount ‘em all.
But, what happened yesterday w Antonio Brown…& what’s continued to happen w him, is a whole other ballgame that needs a nuanced discussion.
Outburst & even meltdowns in sports are common. Why? Bc highly competitive/driven athletes & personnel want to win at ALL costs. When things don’t go their way, volatility can & often ensue.
I’ve read many comments over the past 14 hrs abt the AB situation – him removing his pads & jersey, throwing them into the stands, & running off the field – waving the crowd on, shirtless.
MOST of the comments were opinions abt how AB was upset he wasn’t going to reach his performance bonuses. That he “quit” on his team & how that’s the ultimate sin in pro sports. That he’s a “me guy” & only cares abt himself.
If only the situation were that simple. It’s not. Take into consideration what we’ve seen from AB over his life/career, beginning w his fallout w the Steelers:
He threw a ball at a teammate in practice, leading to Pittsburgh trading him to the Raiders. Once there, he missed training camp practices due to grievances over which helmet he could wear, & had a very public on-field altercation w GM Mike Mayock.
The Raiders released him (never having played a game for them), & after AB asked for the release on Instagram.
The Patriots then signed him to a one yr, $15 million deal. He was released after accusations of sexual abuse surfaced as well as reports he sent threatening texts to his accusers.
Upon hiring movers he was charged w felony burglary & battery w 2 misdemeanors – after throwing a rock at the moving truck & then getting in the drivers seat to physically assault the driver in a dispute over the charge. The judge in his case ordered AB to undergo psychological evaluation.
In 2020 he signed w Bucs – caught 5 passes & a TD in a Super Bowl win. During the off-season, it’s alleged he destroyed a security camera and threw a bike at the security guard shack in his gated community.
He was also suspended 3 games this season (just before this most recent on-field incident.
Taking into consideration all of the above, both on the field incidents and OFF the field, does this sound like the ‘hot head meltdown/overly competitive’ situations mentioned at the top of this post? I’d emphatically say – no way. There’s way more at play here. The consistent behaviour is alarming.
All that being said, none of us are AB’s doctors. We don’t know what docs have told him, or if he’s even gone to get numerous MH checkups with numerous opinions. I share that because a lot of comments are about how ‘this is clearly TBI or early signs CTE’. We don’t know that and it’s dangerous to stick those labels on folks.
All we know is that the list of actions/behaviours above, and based on that list – we can collectively surmise that AB could use professional help as it pertains to his overall mental health – whatever the collective sources are contributing to those actions/behaviours.
Now, feeling this way, wanting to see a guy get help, a bunch of questions gotta be asked. 1) Are the NFL teams who have continued to sign him and pay him – because he can run and catch passes, guilty of being enablers? Is the win at all costs mentality valid, when it appears a guy needs help and won’t get it if he continues to have an outlet to do the thing he’s been told he’s great at his whole life?
2) Does AB, as an adult, hold some of the responsibility of getting himself help? Should some of this fall on him for continuing to play through all these behaviours?
3) Should we speak LOUDLY AGAINST talking heads like Terry Bradshaw (an NFL guy himself), who threw out terms like ‘straightjacket and hospital’ over a LAUGH – when commentating on AB’s behaviours we all witnessed?
The answer to all 3 above, to me (and yes this is just my opinion), is a resounding YES. I get winning, I get competition, I get it all and worked in it all. But as our buddy Robin Lehner aptly said with the Jack Eichel situation recently – LIVES are more important than championships. They just are.
We saw what happened with Philip Adams – the former NFL player who shot his doctor and the doctor’s family, before turning the gun on himself, in a murder/suicide – after his MH wasn’t addressed properly. We know about Junior Seau and Vincent Jackson, and countless others we lost. We also know MH has MANY contributing factors.
We have to get to a point where someone’s MH is more important than W’s and L’s. By the actions of the NFL teams who continued to sign AB…by AB himself prioritizing playing over all else…by the comments from Bradshaw, we have a long way to go in terms of pro sports teams and leagues, and us as a society, properly addressing this issue.
MH MUST come first – in the way we address it, and talk about it, prioritize it. You can choose to walk on a fused ankle the rest of your life because you ‘pushed through the physical injury to win’. I’m not sure we are afforded the same luxury in pushing through MH injuries given what they can lead to.
