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Antonio Brown Tweets 'Two Face' After Ben Roethlisberger's Apology
May 20, 2019
Antonio Brown appeared to take a shot at Ben Roethlisberger after Roethlisberger lamented the breakdown in their relationship when they were teammates on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Roethlisberger apologized for his criticism of Brown following Pittsburgh's 24-17 loss to the Denver Broncos last November.
"I took some heat and deservedly so for some of the comments on that show and especially towards him," Roethlisberger said to KDKA-TV's Bob Pompeani (h/t Dale Lolley of DK Pittsburgh Sports). "I genuinely feel bad about that and I'm sorry. Did I got too far after that Denver game? Probably."
Brown didn't seem to be in a mood to accept the olive branch:
During his radio show on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger singled out Brown for his route running on the 3rd-and-goal play from the 2-yard line that ended in an interception. Big Ben added the team should've targeted JuJu Smith-Schuster instead as soon as the Steelers got near the goal line.
Brown brushed off the comments at the time.
"I've got big shoulders," he told reporters. "I can take it. Constructive criticism is only for you to get better. It's not personal."
But the tension between the two players didn't dissipate and eventually reached a boiling point before Pittsburgh's final game. Brown reportedly threw a ball toward Roethlisberger and then skipped multiple practices. The Steelers sat him for their 16-13 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
As he fumed for a move out of Pittsburgh, Brown contended Roethlisberger had an "owner mentality" toward his teammates at times:
Brown elaborated on that thought during his appearance on HBO's The Shop (via Yahoo Sports' Ryan Young): "All year, the dude called me out. We lose a game, he's like, 'Damn, AB should have run a better route.' ... That's the type of guy he is. He feels like he's the owner. Bro, you threw this s--t to the D-line. How the f--k am I going to run a better route? You need to give me a better ball!"
Brown is now a member of the Oakland Raiders after they acquired him in March. If they stay on their current teams, Brown and Roethlisberger will reunite on the field in 2021 at the latest.
Maybe they'll have worked out their differences by then.