#1 Crisis Public Relations- Antonio Brown

By now everyone has heard Antonio Brown's name being passed around by sports fans and nightly newscasters alike. Why is everyone so fascinated by this man? The answer to that is simply because he's a walking PR circus and one hell of an athlete. But as the story usually goes, with great power comes great responsibility and all that. Brown set several records for receiving and returning some years back which cemented him as arguably the best wide receiver in the league. 

To give a brief breakdown of why he's such a hot commodity for NFL teams: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4TeefMSsLc   - AB Career Highlights

"Brown has amassed more receptions and receiving yards than any other player since he entered the league.
During his first season with the Steelers, the team advanced to Super Bowl XLV but lost to the Green Bay Packers. He finished his rookie season with 16 receptions for 167 yards in ten games. During his second season, Brown became the first player in NFL history to have more than 1,000 yards receiving and returning in the same year. For his efforts, Brown was selected as a punt returner for the 2012 Pro Bowl. In 2013, Brown became the only receiver in NFL history to record five receptions and at least 50 yards in every single game of an NFL season. Although his on-the-field productivity continued over the next several seasons, including leading the league in receiving yards in 2014 and 2017"

 Many fans were excited about Brown's departure from the Steelers after a 9 years stint there. Several of his teammates were sad to see him go but Brown had grown tired of the scenery so he essentially forced a trade. Picking back up on his landing he ended up on the Oakland Raiders which sounds like a match made in football Heaven. The Raiders needed some all-star caliber talent to launch them into a deep playoff run and ignore the negative media already surrounding Brown's image. Thus far he had been painted as a "Rick Flair-esque a**hole you love to hate". The media enjoyed focusing on his lavish spending and flippant attitude toward essentially everything. The bad boy image works for some but amid the excitement there were whispers about Brown desperately wanting a Superbowl ring. Jon Gruden and his Raiders were shaky at best and even with Brown a Superbowl was very far from guaranteed. Soon we started to see ridiculous coverage pop up about Brown arguing with Gruden and claiming he would not play without his old football helmet. While many players are superstitious or have sentimental attachment to gear this seemed out of pocket for Brown from my prospective. Brown's helmet was over 10 years old and therefore could not be approved for play. Brown even took to twitter seeking a similar helmet less than 10 years old and even inquired to the company about producing more of that model of helmet specifically for him, as it had previously been discontinued. Following was a scandal involving Brown raising hell in the Raiders front office and even recording a private conversation with Gruden and leaking it, which by the way according to California state laws is illegal if both parties did not consent to recording. eventually brown posted several cryptic messages on social media. 

"You are going to piss a lot of people off when you do what's best for you" and later, simply "Release me.". And that they did. Upon the Raiders cutting Brown he was almost instantly picked up by none other than the New England Patriots which left NFL fans who were sick and tired of seeing Tom Brady kick everyone's tail reeling. Much like a famous NBA player we'll leave unnamed (*cough cough* Kevin Durant), A.B. finessed his way onto a championship winning team and was almost guaranteed a ring. Reports came out that Brown had planned this all along and that media influencers he consulted recommended he pull his little "helmet gate" stunt and cause trouble so as to get cut. Why would he do this? To signed by the New England Patriots of course. Many people saw him as an idiot but in reality his working of the system was closer to a stroke of genius. Not to mention the memes spawned by all the trouble Brown has caused have been some of the funniest all year. They say any publicity is good publicity but I think we all know that isn't the case.

But when you decide to essentially cheat the system life finds a way of getting you back. Shortly after joining the Pats allegations of sexual assault from Brown's former trainer came to light. The accounts were fairly thorough but sadly when you reach a certain status you become seemingly untouchable....for a while that is. Brown went on to play a game and even score a touchdown for the Patriots but as another alleged victim came forth their hand was forced. The Patriots cut Brown and have given little comment about the situation except that they had to do what was best for the franchise. After being cut Brown went on a social media rampage calling out the NFL for having double standards. In his various posts he calls out everyone from Robert Kraft, to Shannon Sharpe, to his former teammate Ben Roethlisberger for their confirmed and alleged instances of sexual misconduct. Now as more allegations unfold Brown has announced he's done playing in the NFL. Is this the end of this PR train wreck? Probably not. If you get the urge to watch Brown continue to make a fool of himself, feel free to drop him a follow on twitter so you can stay up to date on all of his angry posts calling everyone and their dog out. - https://twitter.com/ab84?lang=en