It is rare to get an inside look at what goes on in a NFL locker room after a game. Even stranger is getting to see the inside of the locker room after a playoff road win.
That is what made Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown streaming the events of the locker room so unusual. Brown shot the video with Facebook Live after the Steelers 18-16 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, Jan. 15.
Brown posted 18 minutes of postgame discussion from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and other teammates speaking after the game. Tomlin has since apologized for his language in the video, but what the coach said wasn’t surprising.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/heres-what-mike-tomlin-called-the-patriots-in-video-streamed-by-antonio-brown/">Tomlin called the Patriots “aholes,” and said his team was going land at “four in the f*ing morning,” when getting home from their trip to Kansas City.
Tomlin didn’t say anything that he needed to apologize for the next day, in my opinion. Salty language in a football locker room is nothing new, and what Tomlin said is in no way near the worst of it. In a game between the New England Patriots and Houston Texans on Saturday, Jan. 14, lip readers could clearly see Patriots coach Bill Belichick drop an f-bomb when requesting a timeout.
Athletes are famous for using any type of perceived or real slight against them as motivation. Basketball great Michael Jordan was an expert at using nearly anything to fire him up for a game.
New England now has plenty of bulletin-board material to post in its locker room. It is not like the Patriots needed more motivation after quarterback Tom Brady was suspended for four games, leaving some players feeling like the league is out to get them.
What Brown posted is just another log that the Patriots can throw on the fire—even if the log they are throwing really doesn’t offer much wood to burn.
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/18495180/mike-tomlin-pittsburgh-steelers-regrets-comments-calls-antonio-brown-selfish">Tomlin called Brown “selfish,” “foolish” and “inconsiderate” for posting the video. If you have never been in a locker room, it is the one place where anything that is said is supposed to stay there.
It is a place where everyone is able to speak his mind, and the outside world isn’t supposed to know. That doesn’t mean things don’t get out, but normally, it is from sources speaking to the media, not live streamed on Facebook.
What is said in the locker room is like having a family meeting: You don’t let anyone outside the family hear what is said. Even when NFL Films or TV crews are in the locker room, players and coaches know and carefully sanitize what they say to avoid controversy.
Brown made the game-winning catch for a first down to run the clock out against the Chiefs. He is one of the best wide receivers in the game today, but it will be interesting to see how his teammates treat him after the video. Tomlin said that the team will punish Brown in some way but didn’t give specifics.
Will teammates forgive Brown if they lose the AFC Championship Game this Sunday, Jan. 22? Or will it tear the Steelers’ locker room apart if they lose to New England after what Brown posted?
If the Steelers win, all will most likely be forgiven because the team will be heading to the Super Bowl. If Pittsburgh loses, that will test Tomlin and his team.
No matter what happens Sunday, chances are that Brown won’t Facebook Live what goes on after the game.
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
comments powered by Disqus