Last month, former NFL All-Pro Antonio Brown was announced as a part owner of the Albany Empire of the National Arena League.
Brown told the local Times Union that he owns the team, but not everybody seems to believe him.
While at a recent game, Brown could be seen greeting fans before a game as a security guard told him that he needed to get off the fight ‘right now.’
That led to a back and forth with Brown telling the security guard he owns the team and then challenging the guy to make him get off the field.
“Make me then. You get off.”
According to a comment under the video, Brown would fire the guy.
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Majority owner Mike Kwarta confirmed Brown’s role as part-owner in a press conference in March. His father, Eddie, is widely considered one of the greatest players in Arena Football League history. He played when the team was known as the Firebirds.
“I grew up here as a little kid, you know, watching my dad be successful,” Antonio Brown said.
“Everything right now is surreal,” Eddie explained. He will take on the role of vice president of football operations for the team.
“I’m happy to be home,” he said.
The Super Bowl champion joined on in his new role after the Albany Empire won their second straight National Arena League championship last year.
This was Brown’s biggest move since he was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in January 2022. His last appearance came in Week 17 of the 2021 campaign, when he walked off the Tampa Buccaneers sideline in the middle of a game against the New York Jets.
The 34-year-old served a three-game suspension in 2021 for violating the joint COVID-19 protocols as he obtained a falsified vaccination card.
Brown was also handed an eight-game ban in 2020 for multiple violations of the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Two women, including former personal trainer Britney Taylor, accused the seven-time Pro Bowler of sexual assault or misconduct prior to that suspension.
Late last year, he faced a battery charge due to a reported domestic incident. However, he would refuse to come out of his home for weeks before the charges would be dropped.
Police were stationed outside Brown’s home in Tampa and “used a megaphone to call out to Brown to come out of the house,” though calls to get him to do so were unsuccessful.
