The issues between Antonio Brown and the Oakland Raiders are anything but resolved, and the two sides appear to be headed for a divorce.
After a wild week in which Brown was fined, had a heated confrontation with Raiders GM Mike Mayock, and then issued an apology, the star wide receiver took to Instagram on Saturday morning to tell the team to release him.
“I have worked my whole life to prove that the system is blind to see talent like mines. Now that everyone sees it, they want me to conform to that same system that has failed me all those years,” Brown wrote in an Instagram post. “‘I’m not mad at anyone. I’m just asking for the freedom to prove them all wrong.’ Release me @raiders.”
There was initially talk that the Raiders would suspend Brown for the way he confronted Mayock during practice, but head coach Jon Gruden said Friday that the plan is for Brown to play in Week 1. However, the team then angered Brown by fining him over the Mayock incident, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the fine for conduct detrimental to the team voided the roughly $30 million guaranteed on Brown’s contract.
By fining Antonio Brown $215,073.53 last night for conduct detrimental to the team on Sept. 4, the Raiders voided the $29.125 million worth of guaranteed money in his deal, per league sources.
This could help explain why Brown is now asking the Raiders for his release.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 7, 2019
Schefter also reports that the Raiders sent Brown a letter notifying him he will not be entitled to termination pay if they release him.
Just when it looked like Brown and the Raiders may be willing to put their differences aside and focus on football, it appears their relationship is beyond salvageable. Brown publicly bashed the team on Instagram earlier this week for fining him over missed practice time, and he then posted a YouTube video of a private conversation he had with Gruden. That video hinted that his issues with the Raiders went beyond just football, and the team has apparently had enough of the drama.
