Call me old school in regards to how I feel about the live feed that Antonio Brown posted after a hard fought and well earned team victory in the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs. The TEAM was fresh off the field and in the sanctity of the locker room. It was before the media availability and before the normal routine of saying a team prayer and the head coach address to the team. NORMAL PROTOCOL.
Brown had other things on his mind.
From a purely personal standpoint, the video by Antonio Brown is quite entertaining and full of the type of energy that spawns virility.
From a team perspective it breaks a few basic rules.
- The sacredness of the locker room is something that should never be broken. It’s a place where some are not allowed and where events can happen that others only hear about. Team is family.
- Respect should be always given to the boss. Some of the players in the video were so busy not paying attention to what the HEAD COACH was saying, they never received the message regarding social media or never heard the comments regarding the Patriots.
- They never joined their teammates in the locker room after the game. It mattered not what everyone else was doing. It was all about the dough and the individual. Bad for the team!
- Believe it or not, this does serve as motivation to the team they are to face in the AFC Championship Game. It is said that they don’t need any more incentive because of the magnitude of the game. True, but when I was with the Redskins, we prepared to face the Bills in Super Bowl XXVI. THE BILLS DEFENSIVE LINE COACH DECIDED TO INSULT THE HOGS ON A NATION STAGE. After we watched that tape the night before the game, you could hear a pin drop when we left that meeting. The game was won when Coach Gibbs played that clip as the last part of that meeting. Yes, the Patriots are motivated but rest assured Bill Belichick will have it on the board and it may be the last thing they watch in the final meeting before the game.
Tomlin will be wise enough and is a good enough coach to capture this and turn it around. I feel he will not only discipline Antonio Brown, but some of the others that were being a little condescending and disrespectful as well.
The battle is on. This will be focused on for a while. Antonio may come out and apologize for his actions or he may not. I would suggest he does so and I hope he grows to really appreciate the value of the lesson he is being taught by the Steelers and Tomlin.
