Brown staying away from Raiders because he can't wear helmet

[Captain Lemming]

I want to know where all the people who were blaming big bad Ben are

this clown continues to make them look like fools

it was open season on Ben for about a month and now all you hear are crickets. really kind of pathetic

I’ll take the bait.
You will not find anyone on the board who had a problem with Brown before me.
Dude is an idiot and I’m glad he is gone and wanted him gone years ago.

I have been mostly supportive of Ben

THAT SAID, Ben deserves criticism. That “as a leader” speech after the Broncos game was ridiculous and I said AT THE TIME that he needed to fix it or he would lose people.

The criticism of his poor leadership I believed is legit.
Emmanuel Sanders said it YEARS ago.

You don’t PROCLAIM leadership.
You ARE a leader because people follow.

In the media the POV I respect and align with the most is Ryan Clark. I think he is neither a hater, nor a overly biased supporter of Ben.
He tore into Brown as the selfish egomaniac he is.....but he did not leave Ben as guilt free.

CLARK said Ben’s leadership has LONG been questioned.

I wonder if Ben is not a “natural” leader but excels at a position that is assigned leadership?

I feel good that Ben understands his mistakes and will handle things differently. I like the reports we are getting. Frankly, I think Tomlin similarly made mistakes in leadership and am similarly confident he has learned from it.

[Captain Lemming]

BTW, when I first saw this thread I was SURE is was gonna be about Browns “big-headed” ego not being able to fit a helmet.

[Steel Maniac]

I’ll take the bait.
You will not find anyone on the board who had a problem with Brown before me.
Dude is an idiot and I’m glad he is gone and wanted him gone years ago.

I have been mostly supportive of Ben

THAT SAID, Ben deserves criticism. That “as a leader” speech after the Broncos game was ridiculous and I said AT THE TIME that he needed to fix it or he would lose people.

The criticism of his poor leadership I believed is legit.
Emmanuel Sanders said it YEARS ago.

You don’t PROCLAIM leadership.
You ARE a leader because people follow.

In the media the POV I respect and align with the most is Ryan Clark. I think he is neither a hater, nor a overly biased supporter of Ben.
He tore into Brown as the selfish egomaniac he is.....but he did not leave Ben as guilt free.

CLARK said Ben’s leadership has LONG been questioned.

I wonder if Ben is not a “natural” leader but excels at a position that is assigned leadership?

I feel good that Ben understands his mistakes and will handle things differently. I like the reports we are getting. Frankly, I think Tomlin similarly made mistakes in leadership and am similarly confident he has learned from it.

Cap, I agree with you mostly but I think the parts that Ben played in those situations were blown out of proportion somewhat. And now that the vail has been pulled back on ACB, (and we find out all the things Steeler management secretly put up with from ACB for years) we are seeing that when in matters concerning ACB, he was 90% of the problem. If Ben was as bad as some in this room were saying, we'd still be having problems from Ben as well. But we are not.

ACB and his antics were always the catalyst of the issues between those two

**What part did Ben play when Brown was throwing things off of buildings and almost hitting people on the streets below?
** What part did Ben play when I was telling everyone Brown was a piece of garbage by sprinkling babies all over the state of Florida??

ACB has been a wrecking ball of disaster (on & off the field) and it's been amazing how these things were covered up for so long. The only thing in life that he's excelled at is playing WR and now the trifling ways of his life are finally affecting that now.

[hawaiiansteel]

Antonio Brown reportedly tried to trick Raiders with bootleg helmet

August 10, 2019
by Larry Brown

Antonio Brown’s serious helmet dispute with the NFL had a funny moment recently, though it’s one the Oakland Raiders probably did not find too amusing.

Brown reportedly is refusing to play unless he can wear the helmet he has been wearing his entire career. The problem is the league has new helmet safety requirements, and Brown’s old-style helmet is on the banned list because it reportedly did not meet an acceptable level in lab testing.

When news of the Brown helmet story was reported on Friday, NFL Media’s Michael Silver shared numerous details about what was happening. Silver says Brown was vocal in OTAs with the Raiders about his objections to using an approved helmet. Though he accepted a new helmet, Silver says Brown later tried to take the field with a bootleg Raiders helmet. Silver further reported Brown tried to use his old helmet that he had repainted as if he were attempting to trick the Raiders.

This bootleg Raiders helmet used by Brown might be the greatest collectible in the NFL. We need a picture of it, pronto.

According to Silver, in addition to trying to use his old helmet at OTAs earlier in the offseason, Brown tried to sneak his old helmet onto the field during training camp. The veteran receiver has gone missing from training camp in the meantime as he deals with issues about the helmet and his reported frostbitten feet.

Brown had an arbitration hearing with the league on Friday over the matter. The Raiders reportedly expect the situation to be resolved next week.

https://larrybrownsports.com/footbal...-helmet/508527

[hawaiiansteel]

Cryotherapy experts baffled by Antonio Brown’s frostbitten feet

PAUL GUGGENHEIMER | Friday, August 9, 2019

The picture circulating on social media of Antonio Brown’s feet is reportedly the result of a cryotherapy session gone very wrong.

From heel to toe, the bottoms of Brown’s feet are one big blister, with yellowish dying skin giving way to a shade of raw pink.

Local cryotherapy experts wonder how Brown or those who administered the procedure didn’t know to properly protect his feet.

Brown, an All-Pro wide receiver who played nine seasons with the Steelers before being traded to the Oakland Raiders in March, is no stranger to the cryotherapy. The procedure involves stepping into a cylindrical, metal tube chilled to temperatures of minus 270 degrees by nitrogen vapor.

Brown was in France for treatment and got into a cryotherapy machine without the proper footwear, according to news reports. The procedure resulted in both of his feet being frostbitten.

Nick Huston, co-owner of Cranberry Cryotherapy, says anyone who steps into a cryotherapy chamber at his facility is required to wear warm dry socks, protective boots and gloves on their hands.

“Obviously (Brown) wasn’t wearing the protection,” Huston said. “How he went into the chamber without it, I honestly have no idea. Here it’s checked and double-checked with each client before they get into the machine.”

Dr. Matt Burnett, a certified chiropractic sports medicine specialist with Legacy Medical Centers in Peters, said that several Steelers players come to the facility for postgame cryotherapy. He said he has worked with players on all 32 NFL teams including Brown.

“What’s cool about cryo is that when you do it, it’s a rapid constriction of the blood vessels and so what it does is take the blood away from the periphery,” Burnett said. “The adrenal glands squeeze because the body thinks it’s going into shock, and you get a natural endorphin rush. And so it’s a massive anti-inflammatory.”

Burnett says that anyone who undergoes cryotherapy has to be careful and that in all likelihood, Brown was not.

“He would have had to have known that something was going on because your feet start to burn and then they tingle and they turn bright red,” Burnett said of Brown. “He went far past burning, tingling and numbness to have these kinds of results. But it just goes to show that the provider who stuck him in there didn’t know what they were doing.”

Brown hasn’t participated in a full practice during training camp.

“The depth and the extent of the damage will determine his recovery time. If it’s a superficial frostbite, you’re talking one to three weeks and he’s back up and running,” said Burnett. “But if it’s a severe frostbite, and it’s killed a portion of the nerve, he could potentially have neuropathy in his feet where he doesn’t feel his feet as a result of this.”

Burnett said he believes the mishap could plague the remainder of Brown’s NFL career.

“If you’re an NFL receiver, and these guys are all looking for that 1% advantage, not being able to know where your feet are at all times is definitely going to work against you.”

https://triblive.com/local/pittsburg...stbitten-feet/

[Starlifter]

I've said this before, AB being a bad teammate and Ben being a bad leader are not mutually exclusive. It's entirely possible both are true. I see Ben proclaim himself a leader quite often, but as someone who's been in leadership positions for the last 30 years - I can say that leadership and respect are earned, not given blindly. Not everyone has the qualities necessary, even though they may be placed in a leadership position.

but this thread is about AB.

I know it's only been a day, but AB was coached by Drake for the last several years. Here's a guy who's so narcissistic he tweets about anything - yet not a peep about someone he worked with for the last few years. I want to give him the benefit of the doubt, maybe he's completely crushed and can't find the words. I really hope that's the case - but I find it surprising he hasn't posted a word.

[Eddie Spaghetti]

to be fair, internet tells me drake was hired January 26, 2018

[Starlifter]

to be fair, internet tells me drake was hired January 26, 2018

I thought he coached AB for two seasons, looks like it was only one. thx for the correction.

[hawaiiansteel]

Jon Gruden Is On Antonio Brown's Side, For Now

Gabe Fernandez

The last time that Raiders coach Jon Gruden had to deal with controversy surrounding a star player on his team, he shipped Khalil Mack off to the Bears and spent most of the next season defending the trade during a 4-12 season. This year, he’s taking a bit of a more level-headed approach, despite the controversy being a lot stranger.

Gruden was asked on Friday about star wideout Antonio Brown threatening to quit football because he’s not allowed to wear the helmet he wants out on the field. Rather than deliver an expected backhanded compliment, or outright snide remark, the Oakland-for-now coach offered nothing but support from the podium, according to ESPN.

“I support this guy. I think that’s what needs to be said,” Gruden said after the Raiders’ 14-3 exhibition-opening win over the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday at RingCentral Coliseum. “I don’t know what anybody’s writing or what anybody thinks, but this foot injury wasn’t his fault. This was a total accident. It really wasn’t his fault, and it’s a serious injury. I know that some people are [joking about] it, but it’s really not a laughing matter. The guy is hurt, he didn’t do anything wrong, and the helmet thing is a personal matter to him.”

“I have a lot of confidence that he’s one of the premier competitors that I’ve ever been around,” Gruden said. “And I’ve got a feeling he would play with no helmet — that’s how much he loves to play. But I’m not going to put words in anybody’s mouth. We’re going to support him, and whatever his decision is, we’ll stand by it. But we’re confident that he’s going to be a huge factor for the Raiders for years to come.

“It was a total accident and injury that he’s looking to get right from, and hopefully, with all the people that have seen it, that he’s gotten it cured, and he’s ready to roll.”

This is definitely a case of damage control meant to not only assuage any potential fears that fans have, but also to put up a front so that the organization can at least pretend that this whole situation hasn’t that big of a distraction. For a franchise that is better known for things they’ve done wrong than done well, it’s a refreshing step in the right direction. But the quote should obviously be only taken with a grain of salt since, well, it’s only the preseason. Sure, there’s always a chance that this is what Gruden actually thinks, but I personally believe these compliments came only because the coach was fresh off a win that featured a 51-yard run from Nathan Peterman.

Let’s see how Gruden’s tune changes once the season starts, and he’s forced to start Derek Carr for the whole game.

https://deadspin.com/jon-gruden-is-o...now-1837146318

[RobinCole]

I’m sure France has good doctors and facilities but why would anyone go to France for cryotherapy when you can get it here? And he’s apparently done so before. Only AB knows.