NFL Rumors: Antonio Brown Sparks New Concern After Turning Private Phone Call With Jon Gruden Into Hype Video
Update: Antonio Brown has been released by the Oakland Raiders, according to a new report by The Inquisitr.
Just when it looked like the Antonio Brown saga was over, he’s pulling fans back in with a highly produced hype video featuring what appeared to be a private phone call with Jon Gruden.
Just hours after the Oakland Raiders announced that the wide receiver would be playing on Monday and apparently not suspended for his verbal altercation with general manager Mike Mayock, Brown took to YouTube to post a video/Nike advertisement showing himself working out and overlaid with audio of his call with the team’s head coach.
In the video, Gruden appeared to be trying to reassure the troubled wide receiver and question whether he would be returning to the team.
“Let me ask you this — do you want to be a Raider or not?” Gruden asked pointedly during the phone call.
“Man, I’ve been trying to be a Raider since day one,” Brown replied. “I’ve been f***ing working by a** off harder than anyone. I don’t know why it’s a question of me being a Raider, it’s like — do you guys want me to be a Raider?”
Gruden’s reply was even more pointed.
“Please stop this s**t and just play football,” he said.
The video featured clips of the criticism Brown has taken during his short and troubled time with the Raiders and was interspersed with clips of the receiver working out and standing on the field in his Oakland Raiders uniform.
Jon Gruden believes in Antonio Brown. pic.twitter.com/NxglEtZozt
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 7, 2019
The nearly two-minute video has sparked some new concern for Antonio Brown, with some questioning why he would risk angering the team by airing a private conversation with Gruden. It was not clear from the video whether the conversation took place around Brown’s latest absence from the team, or if it was earlier in the summer, when he was away from the team as he appealed to the league to reinstate his favorite helmet.
Antonio Brown has posted on his YouTube verified account a video that appears to sound like Jon Gruden and AB talking on the phone and set to an advertisement. This is wild. https://t.co/rVvuIi2TD4
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) September 7, 2019
Privacy issues aside, the production value on Antonio Brown’s YouTube video is damn good.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) September 7, 2019
The video was also released shortly after a report that Brown had been fined an undisclosed amount for the altercation with Mayock and that he was “not happy” about it. The confrontation was reportedly sparked by Brown posting on Instagram a letter that Mayock had sent detailing more than $50,000 in fines that Brown had accrued this offseason for missing team meetings.
Source: The #Raiders fined WR Antonio Brown an unspecified amount for his unprofessional behavior in a recent interaction with GM Mike Mayock. “He’s been fined and he’s not happy,” the source said.
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) September 7, 2019
The video aside, it appears that tensions have cooled between the Oakland Raiders and Antonio Brown, who is expected to be on the field when the team opens the season against the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football.
