A humble sixth-round draft pick in 2010, Antonio Brown has become arguably the best receiver in the National Football League of the last five years. He accomplished this goal thanks to years of hard work and dedication to his athletic abilities. He can run any route, catch any ball, and beat any defensive back who takes the field. But recently, it hasn’t been his field production that’s been making waves in the media. 

  Over the last year, Antonio Brown has been described as selfish, disgraceful, shameful, and most accurately: a clown.

  After every questionable action and after every interview, Antonio Brown finds a way to look worse and doesn’t seem to mind. After skipping practice in the final week of the 2018-2019 season leading up to a critical game with playoff implications, Antonio Brown’s relationship with the Steelers was coming to a rough end. Following the conclusion of the season and a trade to the Oakland Raiders, a chain of events occurred that only made the former fan favorite receiver look increasingly worse. 

  All summer long, Brown made news for the wrong reasons, worsening his image by the day. It began with him calling out former teammate JuJu Smith-Schuster, who is widely considered as hardworking and a great teammate. Brown ridiculed him on social media for fumbling a football in an important game that would limit their chances of making the playoffs, causing immediate hate for Brown after his comments. It was especially disheartening, as Brown was a player Smith-Schuster had looked up to in college and in the NFL with their time together.

  These actions were then followed by Brown skipping Raiders camps and practices, and causing a controversy surrounding which helmet he would wear. After a new rule had been instituted that forced players to wear new helmets and get rid of their old ones, Antonio Brown was the only NFL player who refused to play football until given the helmet he wanted. 

  After weeks of missed practices, the situation moved in a positive direction for a time, as Brown returned to the facility on September 6th. It was that night when Brown posted a private recording of a phone call between him and his head coach Jon Gruden, discussing his position on the team. After all the support the Raiders provided through each of his mistakes, Brown asked for a release and no longer wanted to stay in Oakland. The next morning, Brown was granted his release.

  A few days later, Brown signed with the defending Super Bowl champs, the New England Patriots. In his first game, Brown immediately produced with 54 yards and a touchdown. With a duo of Brady and Brown, the Pats looked unstoppable and were the frontrunners for the Lombardi trophy.

  This was short lived however, as Brown was accused of sexual assault by his former personal trainer Britney Taylor, and was released from the Patriots a few days later. 

  After being on top of the league, Brown has stated publicly he would no longer play in the NFL, followed by a criticism of his ex-quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Brown has now re-enrolled at Central Michigan University, where he attended college from 2007-2009.

  Once thought of as a lock to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Antonio Brown now has higher odds of joining the circus than attaining eternal football glory.