Antonio Brown and Oakland Raiders general manager Mike Mayock got into a verbal dispute during practice on Wednesday, and it sounds like Brown was the one who initiated it.
Brown had made it clear that he was upset with the Raiders for fining him over a missed a practice when he ripped the team in his Instagram story before Wednesday’s session, and he was apparently still angry when the team took the field. Sources told ESPN’s Josina Anderson that Brown walked over to Mayock during practice and called him a “cracker” in addition to unloading some curse words at the GM. Mayock is said to have made an effort to prevent the exchange from escalating.
“[Mayock] was like, ‘I’m cool, I understand your displeasure,'” the source told Anderson. “[Mayock] sort of just like … just walked away because he saw it escalate.”
While it has been reported that teammates — including one you might not expect — had to restrain Brown during the confrontation, it never became physical. They were simply trying to separate Brown from Mayock to diffuse the argument.
It’s worth noting that Anderson’s source also praised Brown for being a hard worker who loves football but said it seems like “there is something that is distracting him from his love that [he] can’t control.”
Brown’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told ESPN’s “Get Up!” on Friday that Brown has a strong relationship with Raiders head coach Jon Gruden, but he would not comment on whether or not the Pro Bowler has gotten along with Mayock.
“Right now I think his relationship with Coach Gruden is good, very good,” Rosenhaus said. “I’m not going to get into his relationship with Mike Mayock, but I will say that we’re hopeful that that will be a good one, as well. It has been in the past; it can be in the future.”
There has already been speculation that the Raiders could explore the possibility of moving on from Brown, but their offense needs him. If the two sides can somehow work things out and the recent remarks Derek Carr made about the situation are accurate, trying to make amends may still be an option.
