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Antonio Brown has revealed additional details into his time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The former wide receiver spoke on the season debut of HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, detailing the deal the team offered him to receive mental health treatment at a facility, which he called "a crazy house."
"These guys at the Tampa Bay Bucs tried to make an agreement with me to give me $200,000 to go to the crazy house so these guys could look like they know what they are talking about," Brown said on the show which aired Tuesday (January 25).
Brown's attorney Sean Burstyn added: "The offer was Antonio basically sit on the sidelines, go on some list and commit himself to some form of intensive mental health treatment, and we were specifically told in writing by the general manager, 'Don't spin this any other way.'"
The comments come weeks after Brown exited the field mid-game against the New York Jets when he removed his uniform and pads. In a series of tweets, Brown said the abrupt exit was due to being forced to play through an ankle injury, something he claims the team and coach knew about.
Burstyn also said: "To the extent any of that is coming from a spin that Antonio had spontaneous mental episode, it's resentful and it's hurtful and it's a disservice to people who do suffer from mental health challenges. We all have our difficulties."
When asked if he think he needs mental health treatment, Brown replied, "I have mental wealth." "I know a lot of people may not understand me," he continued, "know how I look at things or don't know how I react to emotional things, but it's not for them to understand me.
"I have a beautiful family, kids and people all across the world that look up to me. And there's no reason I'm in this position at this point."
The Bucs have disputed Brown's claims about know how severe his ankle injury was and released him shortly after the on-field incident.
f you or someone you know need immediate mental health help, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
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