Cris Collinsworth criticized for generous description of Antonio Brown
Antonio Brown had a monster game in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ win over the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night, and NBC announcer Cris Collinsworth gushed over the star receiver at one point. Some viewers were not pleased about that.
Collinsworth spoke about Brown’s career accomplishments during the fourth quarter of the game. He said the numbers Brown has put up are “remarkable” and complimented his “million-dollar smile.” The way Collinsworth mentioned Brown’s legal issues led some to believe he was downplaying them.
Cris Collinsworth going with "some off-the-field stuff" and "million-dollar smile" to describe Antonio Brown. pic.twitter.com/RIZhesHeEl
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 10, 2021
“When you look at some of the numbers that he’s put up in his career — and of course he’s got that million-dollar smile of his — they’re just remarkable,” Collinsworth said. “I mean it’s just almost unbelievable what he’s been able to do. And yet, because of some off-the-field stuff, he’s sort of faded to the background until last year when he really had a lot to do with that Super Bowl championship.”
What Collinsworth said was accurate. Brown was once arguably the best receiver in the NFL, but he derailed his own career right in the heart of his prime. After he caught five passes for 121 yards and a touchdown on Thursday night, it appears he could be on the verge of breaking out again.
The issue for many people is that Collinsworth seemed to blow over what he called “off-the-field stuff.” Brown has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women. He reached a settlement with one of the alleged victims earlier this year. He was also arrested last year and pleaded no contest to a felony charge in an incident in which he assaulted a moving truck driver.
And that’s only part of it. In 2018, Brown threw furniture off the balcony at his luxury apartment in Miami (video here) in a fit of rage. One of the objects was said to have landed close to a 22-month-old boy. The father of that child sued Brown over the incident, and the two sides reached an undisclosed settlement that included Brown writing a check to the boy’s college fund.
Let’s also not forget about the incident where Brown berated police officers in front of his children and streamed it live on social media.
Collinsworth’s point was that Brown’s career path has been wild, especially for a player who was once considered a lock for the Hall of Fame. But because of Brown’s rap sheet, a lot of people simply don’t want to hear anyone praising him.
