Antonio Brown: When Does Compulsory Compassion End?

The biggest story coming out of the newest public incident involving wide receiver Antonio Brown is not the circus he created, yet again, but rather if he will end up on another team… or if he will stay on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Oh yeah… he still hasn’t been cut at the time of this writing on Jan. 5, 2022, despite the fact head coach Bruce Arians said he was no longer on the team. Of course they might have delayed a decision because they’re looking at potential lawsuits or other complications with cutting him.

Maybe they want to win the Super Bowl and are going to give Brown exactly what he doesn’t need, but more importantly, what he doesn’t deserve.

Another chance and some forgiveness.

Brown, unfortunately, is a big part of what’s wrong with America and these continued feel-good reactions aren’t helping the situation. His track record of criminal behavior, disrespect, lying, quitting, tantrums, etc. are all rewarded with more chances and an outpouring of compassion despite these repeated behaviors and other allegations, some of which, if true, should land him behind bars.

It didn’t take long after he walked off the field against the New York Jets in week 17 of the 2021 season for Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Quarterback Tom Brady to respond with exactly the words that no one should have said.

“I think everyone should be compassionate and empathetic toward some very difficult things.”

When I heard this statement, my immediate reaction wasn’t “no, I won’t,” but rather I asked myself “why would I?” Explain to me why he deserves compassion?

Let’s break this down.

First, we all know that Brady is talking about Brown’s mental health issues and how we need to understand where Brown is at mentally, not specifically excusing his behavior. That’s the compassion he seems to be talking about and how he wants us to think about Brown, and I respect that… but the problem I have with this narrative is that it isn’t anything new. As a matter of fact, this is the same tired old record I have heard played over and over again with Brown.

Let’s start with the professional on-field problems he has caused. He live-streamed the locker room after a game breaking a sacred code of football, brought a team of social media folks to film him while he practiced without telling his bosses about this venture, complained about a helmet change and refused to play, gave himself frost-bite, called Oakland Raiders’ General Manager Mike Mayock a “cracker” and kicked a football in his face, and countless refusals to attend meetings and practices for just about every team he played for, along with him walking out on his team during a game.

This is just the start… let’s not forget about him forging a vaccination card so he could play. He has been a constant problem everywhere he goes.

Then we have the off-field issues. Numerous accusation of sexual assault, numerous accusations of stiffing folks for money and not paying bills, assault on furniture movers, live streaming fights with the mother of his children, being charged with burglary and battery, all of which either involved settling out of court, probation and requirements to attend anger management classes.

This has been going on for years, yet Brady wants us to have compassion for the man and hopes he can get the help he needs.

I would like to have compassion for the man, but I cannot see why I would. I have heard this same narrative about Brown for years. How many times have we all heard this line over and over again? Everyone is saying this, but no one is doing anything other than saying “he needs help.” We just keep enabling him with no real evidence that anyone tangibly cares.

This begs the next question about sincerity, and this isn’t just Brady, but so many others that seem to ask for some understanding for what Brown is going through. We all need to take a step back, have some empathy and hope that he gets the help he needs.

If Brady is being sincere, then where was he two years ago when Brown first arrived in Tampa Bay? How about three years ago when they both spent a moment together on the New England Patriots? Where were all these people who cared for his mental health when he was in Oakland or in Pittsburgh.

It never failed… every time Brown got into some situation, everyone asked for compassion and talked about getting him help. That never happened. They just enabled him, signed him to another team and repeated the process.

At the end of the day, it’s all just empty rhetoric that’s been repeated over and over about Brown. Same stuff was said two years ago, three years ago, four years ago and every other time he gets himself into some situation. It’s like when Brown is playing, everyone treats him like he’s just fine and nothing is, or ever was, wrong. However, when he gets into trouble, all of a sudden it’s the same old tired rhetoric already said a hundred times: “I hope he gets the help he needs” and we all feel good about how compassionate we are, but no one actually does anything but offer lip service.

Look, the man needs help and, in reality, he is the only one that can get that help. That goes for everybody else too, famous or not. However, for Brown, we have rewarded him over and over again for unacceptable behavior and then excused it all. Our society loves to virtue signal and our culture loves to avoid the harsh realities or consequences when it comes to people’s behaviors for fear of being socially impolite or insensitive to one’s pain or the traumatic experiences that led them to this behavior. However, at some point, enough is enough, and Antonio Brown is far beyond that point.

Brown is a highlight reel for our current society, if you think about it. You have to apply his life to how it appears to society being on such a huge stage, with millions watching him and then ask the larger question about our society: Is it any wonder why people think they can act totally out of control whenever they want and anyone questioning their actions is just an evil uncompassionate person that “doesn’t understand what they’re going through?”

There is no doubt that I’m oversimplifying and I recognize that Brown isn’t the be-all-and-end-all of celebrity actions influencing our society in this way. It goes far beyond him. However, if you see more and more regular folks on your daily journey through life acting this entitled and you’re mystified by their actions and excuses, maybe you shouldn’t be so surprised. Look to our most public figures and you may find a possible answer to why people behave the way they do. Are you really that astounded by what you see?