It appears that the Oakland Raiders have grown tired of the drama surrounding wide receiver Antonio Brown, which seems to add a new chapter almost weekly.
From frost-bite to an ongoing helmet issue, the Raiders have been through years worth of drama in the short few months that Brown has been a Raider following a trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier this year.
The helmet issue is the latest hiccup, and Brown is upset, again, about being denied use of his helmet.
Now, Raiders’ general manager Mike Mayock is drawing a line in the sand when it comes to Brown, and the circus that seems to be constantly surrounding him.
“You all know that AB is not here today, right?” Mayock said to reported on Sunday, according to ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez.
“So, here’s the bottom line: He’s upset about the helmet issue. We have supported that, we appreciate that. But at this point, we’ve pretty much exhausted all avenues of relief.
“So, from our perspective, it’s time for him to be all-in or all-out, OK? So, we’re hoping he’s back soon. We’ve got 89 guys busting their tails, we are really excited about where this franchise is going and we hope AB’s going to be a big part of it, starting Week 1 against Denver. End of story. No questions, OK? Just wanted you guys to know where we were. Fair?”
Brown’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, chimed in on Mayock’s comments.
“There’s no doubt it’s still an ongoing process,” Rosenhaus said, according to South Florida’s 7 Sports Extra. “We are trying to work with the team and the league and the union to come up with a solution. We haven’t figured it out yet. To say that AB is upset about the decision to not let him wear his helmet is accurate, but we’re still processing it and figuring it out. I wouldn’t make too much about him not being there today, as much as we’re still trying to come up with a solution that works for everyone.”