Antonio Brown wore out his welcome in Oakland in part because of the way he publicly criticized the team on social media, and that was apparently as calculated a move as many have speculated.
Brown has all but admitted that he forced the Raiders to release him once his relationship with the team started to go south, and one of the ways he did that was through the use of social media. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen said Sunday that Brown even went as far as to hire social media experts for advice on how to accelerate the process.
Antonio Brown sought advice from social media consultants on how he could accelerate his release from the Raiders, accoring to @mortreport. pic.twitter.com/lXBQmxOB4Z
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) September 8, 2019
The tension between Brown and the Raiders appeared to reach a boiling point when ripped the team on Instagram for fining him over missed practice time. That missed practice time came while Brown was in a war with the NFL over his outdated helmet, and it’s possible — if not likely — that Oakland’s brass was tired of him from that point on.
Brown then had his infamous argument with Raiders GM Mike Mayock at practice, and it appeared things had cooled down when he apologized later in the week. However, he continued with the social media antics by sharing a YouTube video of a private conversation he had with Jon Gruden and publicly demanding that the Raiders release him after they fined him for the Mayock incident.
The Patriots reportedly offered the Pittsburgh Steelers a first-round pick for Brown before he was traded to the Raiders, so they have had interest in him for quite some time. Tom Brady also appeared to recruit Brown weeks ago, which could lead to tampering charges being filed.
