Antonio Brown confused a lot of people on Sunday when he took off his jersey, threw his undershirt and gloves into the crowd, and ran off the field during the Buccaneers-Jets game and into the tunnel. That includes the MetLife Stadium security people who reportedly almost tackled him.
Antonio Brown ran off the field shirtless after showing some frustration on the sidelines.@JenHale504 pic.twitter.com/Jet6ofnNm2
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 2, 2022
According to Fox Sports sideline reporter Jen Hale, security guards noticed Brown, who was shirtless at this point, running into the endzone while the game was in play on the other side of the field, and initially approached him thinking he was a fan who had jumped onto the field. Thankfully, they quickly realized who he was and let him run into the tunnel of his own accord. It was already a surreal enough scene without having fans witness one of the players get tackled by security guards to top it all off.
On the Fox Broadcast, it was just reported that when Antonio Brown ran into the end zone shirtless, security initially thought he was a fan who jumped onto the field to make a scene. They were going to try to tackle him until they realized who he was. AB left on his own accord.
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) January 2, 2022
Antonio Brown situation gets nuttier. Fox Sports sideline reporter Jennifer Hale says the cops and security guards were prepared to tackle what they thought was a shirtless fan — until they realized it was Brown and let him make his way to the locker room. #antoniobrown #bucs.
— Michael McCarthy (@MMcCarthyREV) January 2, 2022
This sideline report is incredible. Stadium security thought there was a shirtless fan on the field and intended to tackle him before they realized it was Antonio Brown
— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) January 2, 2022
The latest incident in the Antonio Brown saga this season might just be the last straw for his time in Tampa, though many are discussing the role that head coach Bruce Arians and the Buccaneers have played in enabling Brown because of his football skills when they should have been paying closer attention to his mental health needs.
While social media is certainly having a field day with the moment, there are likely some serious consequences ahead for Brown, not to mention some serious conversations involving Buccaneers brass. Thankfully, the MetLife security folks reacted quickly enough to avoid adding any further fuel to the fire.
[Dan Wetzel]