The Pittsburgh Steelers were not fond of Antonio Brown’s Facebook Live post following the team’s playoff win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Mike Tomlin ripped Brown for it and Brown himself was quite remorseful. But if Steelers legend “Mean” Joe Greene had his way, Brown would have been shown the door.
“I was very, very, very disappointed in the actions of our wide receiver, No. 84, at the end of the year,” Greene said in an interview with Cook and Poni on 93.7 in Pittsburgh (H/T Joe Kapp, CBS). “Those types of actions can’t be tolerated. … My first thought was, I would have to say goodbye. … but that’s me.”
It’s not surprising to hear Greene say this. Social media in general may be the biggest difference between players of Greene’s era and the modern ones. Even in today’s game, though, Brown’s video was uniquely offensive in terms of locker room etiquette.
With that said, controversial players are nothing new. In Greene’s day, if the controversial player was as good as Brown, saying “goodbye” was not likely. Conversely, Brown’s skill helped him through this. If he wasn’t a star, he probably would have been shown a quick exit in Pittsburgh following that action.