Antonio Brown has managed to create major controversy within a whole other league. By now, that should come as no surprise as trouble seems to follow him wherever he goes, even if it’s just home.
The latest Brown mess has to do with National Arena League outfit, the Albany Empire. Brown has claimed he’s bought a controlling share of the team and, since he’s been around, it’s been all chaos. The Empire just had to rehire a head coach it fired before the beginning of the season as the man they replaced him with has walked along with multiple players, including the league MVP, because of missed payments (or so it’s alleged).
Brown somewhat addressed the reports this week but would not give a direct answer regarding the claims of missed payments.
There’s since been another twist, with the Albany Times-Union publishing a letter this Friday in which it’s stated that Antonio El-Allah Express Trust Enterprise owns 95 percent of the team while Brown doesn’t have any ownership or control himself.
Per Abigail Rubel, a foreigner named Antonio El-Allah is the trustee.
The letter reads:
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“I Brown, Antonio Tavaris a foreign national but not a citizen of the United States at birth, am writing to you regarding recent reports that have been circulating in the media regarding my supposed ownership of the Albany Empire team. I want to make it very clear that I am not the owner of this team, and any claims to the contrary are completely false.
“As you may know, I am involved with the ANTONIO EL-ALLAH EXPRESS TRUST ENTERPRISE (a ‘trust’), which is a separate entity from myself. While the Trust have 100 percent ownership stake in the ALBANY EMPIRE, I myself do not have any ownership or control over the team.”
If you’re even more confused after reading this, we don’t blame you. The letter claims that AB is a foreign national but it’s always been thought that he was born in Miami.
As for the trust’s full ownership, five percent of it is actually owned by Steve and Charlotte von Schiller, according to the Times-Union.
The fact that Brown was removed from the field by security before the Empire’s season opener also shows how unclear this whole ownership thing really is. But the former NFL star did address the media on behalf of team affairs this week.
