Newly acquired Oakland Raiders receiver Antonio Brown(aka Mr.Big Chest) was supposed to be the Raiders biggest offseason acquisition, and would be playing an instrumental role in leading Oakland back to the playoffs. Instead, there is chance that he doesn't even play this season, or the next one, or the one after that.
Before we get into Brown's retirement saga, we need to talk about his feet. When AB reported to training camp, it was revealed that he had been suffering from severe frostbitten feet(See them here, although I advise you not to). His frostbite was suffered when he underwent cryotherapy in France. Cryotherapy is when the body is placed in a chamber with temperatures at around -110 degrees Fahrenheit. The treatment is used to help athletes speed up recovery from injuries or soreness. Brown apparently did not wear proper footwear when he went into the chamber, leaving him with frostbitten feet. Now, he can hardly run, let alone engage in a full contact practice. Additionally, Brown has stayed away from the Raiders this whole time, and perhaps is avoiding his contract getting voided due to a self-inflicted injury.
Now, the news that was leaked last night by ESPN's Adam Schefter. He reported that Brown would retire from the NFL if he was not allowed to wear his old helmet. Last year, the NFL made severe cut downs on many old helmet types, and deemed them unsafe to wear. Stars like Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers switched their helmet type last year. However, Brown was extremely displeased with this rule, and began to dispute with the Raiders.
In May, before OTA's(organized team activities), Raiders trainers were instructed to remove all banned helmets from the locker room. When AB showed up to OTA's, he demanded his old helmet, and loudly complained when he was told he could not. Over the course of the next few weeks, he reportedly tried painting his old helmet to match the new one, and also attempted to smuggle the old helmet to practice multiple times. Every time he was denied, he became less and less happy with the team, and became unfocused during team meetings. This all culminated last night when Brown said that he would retire if he was not allowed to have his old helmet back.
Clearly, this is a huge problem for the Raiders. They certainly new about all the drama they would be getting when they traded for Brown back in March, but nobody could have guessed it would be this much. If Oakland cannot sort this out, trading for Mr. Big Chest might have been a terrible mistake.
Comments