Oakland Raiders Cut Antonio Brown Following His Request To Be Released, Signs 1Year w/ Patriots
Oakland Raiders Cut Antonio Brown Following His Request To Be Released, Signs 1-Year w/ Patriots
In the ongoing saga between the Oakland Raiders and decorated wide receiver, Antonio Brown, the drama has officially came to an end as Brown has been released from the team’s roster on Saturday morning (Sept. 7th). As previously reported, Brown, 31, made a public apology on Friday (Sept. 6th) following his altercation with the team general manager, Mike Mayock. Brown reportedly called Mayock a racial slur and allegedly threatened to punch him in the face during a heated conversation over being fined more than $50,000 for missing a team practice and activities.
The drama didn’t stop there. Just hours after his public apology on Friday (Sept. 6th), Brown shared a video that included his private conversation with Raiders head coach, Jon Gruden. In the video, coach Gruden asks Brown,
“What the hell is going on, man?”
Brown responds,
“Just a villain all over the news, man.”
Soon after, Brown was hit with yet another fine reportedly worth more than $200,000 by the Raiders for his verbal altercation with general manager Mayock. This third fine set Brown off yet again and the 7-time Pro Bowler took his frustration out on social media, demanding his release from the team. He writes Saturday morning (Sept. 7th) after posting a subliminal message,
“And that’s fine! I have worked my whole life to prove that the system is blind to see talent like mines. Now that everyone sees it, they want me to conform to that same system that has failed me all those years. I’m not mad at anyone. I’m just asking for the freedom to prove them all wrong. Release me Raiders.”
As requested, the Raiders officially cut ties with the decorated wide receiver just hours after his social media rant.
Brown later shared an image of a floor mat with an image of himself and added the caption,
“Stay tuned, Gods at work.”
Here is Brown’s reaction after learning of his release from the Raiders.
After the Raiders practice on Saturday (Sept. 7th), coach Gruden spoke on the release of Brown, he says,
“We just have exhausted everything. We tried every way possible to make it work. All I’m gonna say is, it’s disappointing. I’m really proud of our players, our coaches, our owner, our front office. We did everything we could to make this work. I’m sorry it didn’t. I apologize, but I will tell you I am very proud of what we did as an organization to try and I wish Antonio nothing but the best and I’m sorry that we never got a chance to see him in Silver and Black.”
He continues,
“Very disappointing in my career as a coach. I really looked forward to coaching him, but it’s not gonna happen. I’m not gonna sit here and talk about it all day, we got 12 rookies, we got a lot to be excited about. I wish Antonio the very best.”
Following Brown’s release from the Raiders, the wide receiver will get another chance as he reportedly signed a 1-year, $15 million deal with the 2018 Super Bowl Champions, New England Patriots.
What are your thoughts on Antonio Brown? Let us know in the comments!