There are some biases I should admit to before I launch into this column.
First, as much as I am a fan of any NFL team, it has been the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for most of my life. I had an uncle that lived in Tampa and worked as a contractor for the team in the creamsicle days. My Christmas gift from him every year was a jersey from a different lineman.
Second, I deal with some mental health issues myself. Mine are pretty much under control, but like anyone else, I found myself seriously slipping in the early days of the pandemic.
Finally, I was never a fan of bringing Antonio Brown to Tampa. I thought from the word go it was a cost with no benefit. How could a receiving corps that already included Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Rob Gronkowski need someone like Brown?
So, I am laying all of that out there before I write that talking about Antonio Brown isn’t easy right now. The guy clearly needs help, and as a human being, you should hope that he gets it.
At the same time, Antonio Brown has proven over and over again to be a genuinely bad person. Multiple women have accused him of sexual assault. He injured a baby by throwing furniture off his balcony. He has stiffed multiple contractors out of thousands of dollars by not paying for the services he rendered. Finally, there was the fake Covid vaccine card.
Sports talk radio, for so long, was looked at by others in our industry like it was a holding room for dipshits. We were where testosterone ruled. There was no time for thought and nuance.
That largely isn’t true anymore. Sure, emotion still rules the day, but so many hosts take time and show sensitivity when they need to. It is a good thing that we are careful when we talk about mental health.
Sometimes, we can be so careful that we bend over backward to avoid damning those that deserve to be damned. We eliminate nuance because we are afraid to be called rude.
You know that saying that there are two sides to every issue? I’m sorry, but that is a load of bullshit. There is not a reasonable argument against everything.
Antonio Brown is clearly mentally unstable. He is also clearly an asshole. Those two facts do not contradict each other and it is reasonable to acknowledge both when talking about why he is no longer part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Being a host or commenter is so different from being a reporter or calling play-by-play. Our audience is coming to us for emotion and opinion. Even the people that genuinely like you will disagree with you sometimes if you are doing the job right.
I am a big fan of the way fans and some in the media are allowing players across all leagues and sports to acknowledge when they are not okay. Following a statement like that with “tell me more” instead of “you’re soft” makes for a healthier overall sports culture that isn’t exclusionary to potential new fans.
Mike Keith, the play-by-play voice of the Tennessee Titans, rightly called AJ Brown a hero for talking about his own mental health struggles earlier this year.
“When somebody like AJ Brown says something, I promise you there was… somebody out there who was on the ledge who heard that and stopped and ask for help,” Keith said on 104.5 The Zone in Nashville in November.
AJ Brown was vulnerable. He told us that he struggled and explained what those struggles feel like. He told those that were watching that if anything he said sounded or felt familiar, it is okay to ask for help. You are not weak because you need someone to listen.
That is a hero. That is someone that values mental health and deserves every benefit of our doubt.
Antonio Brown (no relation, just in case you didn’t already know) has never been out for anyone but himself, and not even his true self. He has always been looking for the like or for the clout. It doesn’t mean he doesn’t truly need help, but truly needing help doesn’t make anything I just wrote false either.
I am for trying to understand as much as possible. I am for smart conversations over vitriolic takes on sports talk radio, but I also am for smart people with microphones not being neutered.
Mental instability and illness is not a get out of jail free card for people incapable of seeing beyond their own nose. Wish for Antonio Brown to get the help he needs, but don’t be afraid to look at all of the past evidence and wonder why he kept getting another shot.
Certainly Tom Brady, Bruce Arians and the Buccaneers organization deserve some of the blame for what happened on Sunday in Met Life Stadium. But Brown deserves the bulk of it for blowing up his career and there is nothing wrong with saying that.
Demetri Ravanos is a columnist and features writer for Barrett Media. He is also the creator of The Sports Podcast Festival, and a previous host on the Chewing Clock and Media Noise podcasts. He occasionally fills in on stations across the Carolinas in addition to hosting Panthers and College Football podcasts. His radio resume includes stops at WAVH and WZEW in Mobile, AL, WBPT in Birmingham, AL and WBBB, WPTK and WDNC in Raleigh, NC.
You can find him on Twitter @DemetriRavanos or reach him by email at DemetriTheGreek@gmail.com.
