The Pittsburgh Steelers head into Sunday’s AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots mired in controversy. Said controversy surrounds a Facebook Live video star receiver Antonio Brown posted immediately after the team’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Playoffs.
Brown’s video, which drew widespread criticism around the NFL (the Patriots included), told us a story of a player that simply is out of touch with what his team demands of him.
On the same day it was reported that Facebook encouraged Brown to post after the game last Sunday, Fox Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer is indicating that the Steelers have fined Brown $10,000 for his tone-deaf video.
.@jayglazer reports: Mike Tomlin announced that he's fining Antonio Brown $10,000 for his Facebook debacle. https://t.co/N3t5aqMw2j
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 22, 2017
A total of $10,000 isn’t a huge number for a player that’s currently under contract at $41.9 million over five seasons. It, however, does send a message. Tomlin himself was painted in a bad light with comments he directed the Patriots’ way in a speech that should have never been made public. Surely, he’s taken a big issue with Brown’s actions.
Pittsburgh is set to take on the Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Sunday with a spot in Super Bowl LI on the line. Let’s hope Brown’s comments don’t act as a distraction to a team that’s been dealing with the flu bug over the past week.