Antonio Brown Says He Won’t Return to NFL

On Sunday morning, Antonio Brown took to Twitter to announce that he would not play in the NFL any longer. In a lengthy post, Brown was critical of the league’s ownership, writing that “these owners can cancel deals do whatever they want at anytime we will see if the @NFLPA hold them accountable.”

Will not be playing in the @NFL anymore these owners can cancel deals do whatever they want at anytime we will see if the @NFLPA hold them accountable sad they can just void guarantees anytime going on 40m 2 months will see if they pay up !

— AB (@AB84) September 22, 2019

Brown played for one game for the New England Patriots before being cut by the team. He has been accused of sexually assaulting his former personal trailer; an artist hired to paint a mural for him in 2017 has also accused Brown of sexual misconduct.

Shortly after announcing that he was done with the NFL, Brown posted a link to a story about Patriots fans harassing the writer who broke one of the stories about accusations of sexual misconduct. “System working effectively,” Brown wrote. It’s not clear if this is meant to be ironic or if he was endorsing such harassment.

System working effectively https://t.co/ufnZFtn2Wv

— AB (@AB84) September 22, 2019

Brown also criticized the league for a perceived double standard in its handling of sexual assault, noting that his former Steelers teammate Ben Roethlisberger was suspended for 4 games (initially, the suspension was for 6) and that Shannon Sharpe continues to have a presence on television. Both men have also been accused of sexual assault in recent years.

4 games for Big Ben crazy world I’m done with it pic.twitter.com/ZXVZXzM4xh

— AB (@AB84) September 22, 2019

Shannon Sharp the funny guy on tv 📺 still after this pic.twitter.com/ZlVvvOqKWg

— AB (@AB84) September 22, 2019

Will these posts mark the end of Brown’s football career? It’s difficult to see where he goes from here — though given the severity of the accusations against him, where he might play next may be the least of his concerns.

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