PITTSBURGH _ Antonio Brown still can't believe they put him in a "crazy jacket" _ an anti-suicide smock _ 13 days ago in Broward County (Fla.) bond court.
"I don't even know why they did that," Brown said with a laugh Thursday on The Fan Morning Show, part of a rambling yet captivating 23-minute interview that turned double-talk into performance art and did nothing to help his cause, assuming his cause is to cash NFL paychecks in the very near future (he both wants to play again and isn't sure, just as he claimed "no beef" with JuJu Smith-Schuster but proceeded to tear him to pieces).
Brown was also fitted for a GPS monitor in court, and if he couldn't figure out that move, either, it probably had something to do with him throwing a rock at a moving van, hurling candy penises toward policemen, berating his ex-girlfriend and the police in a profanity-laced tirade in front of his small children and turning himself in on battery and burglary charges. All of which meshed with a recent history that included Brown throwing furniture off a balcony, incurring multiple sexual misconduct accusations and driving 100-plus mph on McKnight Road.
I don't mean this is a joke, because nothing here is funny, but if the crazy jacket fits ...
And to repeat, it was a mere 13 days ago that Brown appeared in court. So the idea he has somehow seen the light between now and then _ that he is suddenly sincere in his "apologies" and is on a new and enlightened path, beginning with last week's Josina Anderson interview _ seems rather unlikely.
It seems dangerous, actually, and not at all in the service of Brown turning his life around. The man was wearing an ankle bracelet nine days ago. It's too soon for an apology tour and way too soon for the therapy to kick in, if Brown is even in therapy.
His apologies are worthless, anyway, as several of his former teammates will tell you.
Remember when Brown apologized to "family, friends and anyone who I offended" Dec. 6 via Instagram, labeling his behavior "inexcusable"? That was a month and a half before his arrest.
Remember when Brown "sincerely" apologized to Patriots owner Robert Kraft, via Twitter, on Nov. 19, saying, "sorry for the bad media and the drama," and claiming he had only wanted to help? That was two weeks before he took to Instagram to mock Kraft's infamous spa visit and question his desire to win.
And yet, you had talking heads and media outlets such as ESPN.com somehow deciding the big news Thursday was Brown "apologizing" to the Steelers. Never mind that he pretty much undercut anything he apologized for.
The headline on ESPN.com: "AB apologizes to Steelers for being a distraction."
Yes, well, he also insulted his former teammates by saying, "Guys on the team weren't ready to push to get what was important" in 2018. Can you imagine what the likes of Maurkice Pouncey, Cam Heyward and David DeCastro must think of that, coming from a guy who quit on them?
Brown also said "people don't know the truth" behind his disappearance leading up to the 2018 season finale. He said Smith-Schuster didn't respect him, Hines Ward didn't respect him, Ben Roethlisberger didn't respect him and the police wronged him.
I'm sure he intended to come off as contrite. But if you listen closely to the words behind the mostly tranquil voice, he revealed himself to (still) be delusional, desperate and defiant.
The Sporting News got the headline right: "Antonio Brown rants about JuJu Smith-Schuster feud, sideswipes Hines Ward during Pittsburgh radio interview."
If Brown is serious about playing again, he needs to find a new entourage and disappear for a few months so he can actually make use of whatever help he receives.
The first rule in solving a problem, after all, is to admit there is one. Almost every time Brown said he "won't make excuses," he made an excuse. He remains forever the victim, and until that changes, all the help in the world will not save him.
Take the McKnight Road incident, for example. In one breath, Brown said "there is no excuse" for his "negative, emotional reaction" to police. In the next, he claimed he was unfairly treated, to which host Colin Dunlap interjected, "My man, you were going 100 miles an hour on McKnight Road."
Brown: "Come on, sir. The traffic lights ... don't even allow you to go that fast, bro. There's a light at every stop on McKnight, that's what I'm sayin'. I'm always the person painted and put in the wrong light, based on the position I'm in."
Then he brought up JuJu and how JuJu apparently sped one day, too, and nobody castigated him, and ... and ... and.
Brown also lied by saying, "I never said anything (bad) about JuJu," apparently forgetting he mocked Smith-Schuster, via social media, for his season-ruining fumble in New Orleans.
During another diatribe on JuJu, or maybe it was the same diatribe, Brown said, "These young kids have no one to tell them the truth."
Do you, Antonio?
Do you?
