Antonio Brown’s serious helmet dispute with the NFL had a funny moment recently, though it’s one the Oakland Raiders probably did not find too amusing.
Brown reportedly is refusing to play unless he can wear the helmet he has been wearing his entire career. The problem is the league has new helmet safety requirements, and Brown’s old-style helmet is on the banned list because it reportedly did not meet an acceptable level in lab testing.
When news of the Brown helmet story was reported on Friday, NFL Media’s Michael Silver shared numerous details about what was happening. Silver says Brown was vocal in OTAs with the Raiders about his objections to using an approved helmet. Though he accepted a new helmet, Silver says Brown later tried to take the field with a bootleg Raiders helmet. Silver further reported Brown tried to use his old helmet that he had repainted as if he were attempting to trick the Raiders.
13) However, sometime in the next couple of weeks, Brown once again tried to take the field with his old helmet, which he had since had repainted with colors approximating—but not completely mimicking—the Raiders’ silver-and-black design…
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) August 9, 2019
This bootleg Raiders helmet used by Brown might be the greatest collectible in the NFL. We need a picture of it, pronto.
According to Silver, in addition to trying to use his old helmet at OTAs earlier in the offseason, Brown tried to sneak his old helmet onto the field during training camp. The veteran receiver has gone missing from training camp in the meantime as he deals with issues about the helmet and his reported frostbitten feet.
Brown had an arbitration hearing with the league on Friday over the matter. The Raiders reportedly expect the situation to be resolved next week.
