Tony Dungy 'Disappointed' in Kraft Signing Antonio Brown: 'Sends Wrong Message'

Former NFL head coach and current NBC analyst Tony Dungy said on the Sunday Night Football broadcast he was displeased with the New England Patriots after they signed wideout Antonio Brown.

"I'm disappointed in Robert Kraft signing Antonio Brown," he said, per Andrew Fillipponi of 93.7 The Fan. "Our players are supposed to be role models. This sends the wrong message."

There are a lot of angles to examine in those comments. The Patriots, for instance, would likely argue that they're in the business of winning games and that they believe Brown will help them do so. Brown, after all, remains arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL. 

If Brown buys into the system and produces—and if the Patriots win yet another Super Bowl—it's hard to imagine Kraft, Bill Belichick or Tom Brady will lose much sleep at night worrying about whether Brown is the ideal role model. 

Then there's the angle of player empowerment. The drama-filled, social media-fueled style Brown employed to express his displeasure with the Raiders—or to masterfully engineer his departure—wasn't a great look. Brown may have even broken California's two-party consent laws by recording a phone conversation with Raiders head coach Jon Gruden and posting it on YouTube. 

But Brown is also 31 and has never won a Super Bowl. If he got to training camp and didn't believe he had any chance of winning a Super Bowl with the Raiders—and few people would argue with a straight face that the Raiders are title contenders—Brown may have decided to use the power he had to find a new situation. 

Remember, he was traded to Oakland. Remember, it was Oakland that chose to void the guarantees in his contract. That isn't to absolve Brown of his behavior, but it takes two to end a relationship. The Raiders played their part.

And if he goes to the Patriots, plays ball and wins a Super Bowl, is anybody outside of Oakland going to blame him for changing addresses? Is anybody going to blame him for swapping Derek Carr for Brady, or Gruden for Belichick?

No, of course not.

Now if it doesn't work out, yes, it will remain a terrible look. Brown has now essentially forced his way out of two organizations, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Raiders, in less than a year. If he can't succeed in New England, the team that won six titles in the past two decades, the narrative that he's a bad role model and only cares about himself will permanently stick.  

But if he balls out and the Patriots win yet again, Brown can say all of his actions this summer were about ultimately getting to a place where he could win. Whether people buy that story—or accept his behavior as an acceptable means to an end—remains to be seen. But Brown's narrative this season has yet to be fully written, and he certainly has a chance to begin repairing a damaged reputation.