Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown once again finds himself in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The disgraced ex-NFLer is the majority owner of the Albany Empire, a team in the National Arena League. Brown owns 95 percent of the team, with Steve and Charlotte Von Schiller owning the remaining five percent.
Per a report from Abigail Rubel of the Times Union newspaper in Albany, the future of Brown’s NAL team is already in question because of several issues. This includes a missed payment for head coach Damon Ware and some off-the-field incidents:
“A missed payday, several suspensions and a misdemeanor charge has clouded the immediate future of the Albany Empire, the city’s arena football team.
The Empire organization has not paid players or coaches since April 21, according to one of the team’s top players. Coach Damon Ware confirmed the lack of payment and said Monday that he has left the team…
The team is supposed to be paid the Friday following each week’s game; no one received direct deposits on April 28 ahead of Sunday’s game, and the team played the Carolina Cobras in Greensboro, N.C., without pay, one player said, speaking on condition of anonymity…
The Albany police responded to a report of aggravated harassment at the team’s hotel at around 9:40 a.m. Monday morning, department spokesman Steve Smith said. Smith couldn’t identify the victim or others involved because an investigation is ongoing.”
It’s yet another controversial storyline in Brown’s tragic and well-documented fall from grace.
Brown also stirred the pot last week when he announced on Twitter that he had come out of retirement to join the Baltimore Ravens. This tweet took place after they extended quarterback Lamar Jackson and used a first-round pick on promising Boston College wideout Zay Flowers.
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Brown’s final season in the NFL took place with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021. The organization handed him a one-year contract extension less than three months after they won Super Bowl 54 over the Kansas City Chiefs.
The controversial wideout walked off the field of the Bucs’ Week 17, 2021 road game against the New York Jets following an argument about a foot injury Brown was dealing with. Brown left during the game, even taking off his jersey, before running out of MetLife Stadium.
Brown’s behavior and off-the-field issues led to the end of a once-illustrious NFL career. And now his future as a football team owner appears to be in jeopardy as well.
