In an interview that was as inconsistent and wandering as his behavior for the past 14 months, Antonio Brown made his first live radio appearance in Pittsburgh since his football career came off the rails.
Brown appeared on “The Fan Morning Show” on 93.7 FM Thursday morning. In a 22-minute conversation, Brown alternated between a guy who sounded like he was trying to turn over a new leaf and one who was denying responsibility for his actions, carrying grudges, and lashing out at those who he felt disrespected him.
At times in the interview, the former Steelers All-Pro admitted that he needs to handle situations better, needs to be more positive, apologized to Ben Roethlisberger, Art Rooney II, Mike Tomlin and the Steelers, and said he “missed the ’Burgh.”
He also embraced the idea of strengthening mental health access and mentioned positive conversations with his therapist.
Then, at other times, the out-of-work wide receiver lashed out at JuJu Smith-Schuster for posting an image of himself scoring against the Raiders shortly after Brown was traded to Oakland.
He bashed Hines Ward for failing to mentor him his rookie season.
He, again, bemoaned his life in the public eye while ignoring the irony of how often he puts his whole existence on social media.
He complained about police pulling him over for speeding on McKnight Road.
Furthering the entire segment of contradiction, Brown, at times, came off as sad about how “bored” he was without football, yet later stated he’s not sure if he wants to go back to the NFL.
He took responsibility for how poorly he handled himself when police showed up at his Florida home to deal with a domestic disagreement with the mother of his children, then, simultaneously, he tried to defend what he did by insisting she was trying to steal his car.
He did so by making some bizarre analogy about, “What if Madonna gave me a Bentley, and I went to her mansion to try to steal it back? The police would take me down.”
So, yes. Madonna is somehow a part of this conversation now, too.
Brown also didn’t directly answer a question about where things stand in terms of the NFL investigation into claims of sexual misconduct, and his apparent online intimidation of those who made complaints against him.
Want some quotes? Here we go.
• On whether he has anything to say to Tomlin, Roethlisberger, Rooney and the whole Steelers organization: “I apologize to those guys for the distractions, the unwanted attention I caused those guys. (I) want to clear out any baggage or disrespect or unintended attention that was brought onto the organization. I’m forever grateful for the opportunity to play with those guys.”
• On complaining about too much public attention, yet constantly being on social media: “I’m running a business. I’ve got to market myself. When you become successful in this lifestyle, people are going to put you out there.”
• On Smith-Schuster: “You get a chance to work with me. You have your best season ever. I’m about to leave, and you post a picture of you scoring against a team where I’m going, and you say ‘I’m ready.’ That’s a form of disrespect.”
I’m Ready... pic.twitter.com/K9EZVna0VV— JuJu Smith-Schuster (@TeamJuJu) March 10, 2019
• On Ward: “Hines Ward didn’t show me the respect I needed or gave me the positivity or the support I needed. I’ve never been to his house, or (went) over plays with him — how to get open. I gave JuJu Smith-Schuster all those positive cheat codes.”
• On Roethlisberger: “We had a real heart-to-heart (before the Week 17 game in 2018) to hash things out. But I think too much stuff built up to the point that it was too late.
“Do I hate Ben? No. Do I love Ben? Yes. Ben is a great guy, a great person, a great quarterback. All that.
“All the disappointment and frustration could have been hashed out. But all the emotions and egos get involved, and things go different ways. Then, we’ve got JuJu Smith-Schuster. So I guess that worked better for him.”
• On if he wants to get back in the NFL: “I don’t know. I don’t know what I want to do right now. I’m just taking it one day at a time.”
• On the investigation: “There is no investigation to do. These guys are putting this stuff on hold.”
There was a lot more to the interview. We’ve linked it above. You can listen to the whole thing and try to make sense out of it.
In the meantime, do I need to get a quote from Madonna?
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