Antonio Brown has heard the public’s diagnosis.
The star NFL receiver went on the “FULL SEND PODCAST” hosted by members of the YouTube NELK collective minutes after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers officially released him on Jan. 6.
The interview included many noteworthy moments, like him calling out Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady and giving himself a moment of silence for being one of the greatest NFL players ever.
Toward the end of the hour-long interview, however, the serious topic of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) came up. Brown said he didn’t want to think too much about whether he has CTE or not, because it’s a disease that can’t be diagnosed until someone dies.
He then compared his career to Vincent Jackson’s. Jackson played 12 seasons at wide receiver in the NFL, with his last season being in 2016 with the Buccaneers. Jackson died at 38 in February 2021 of chronic alcohol use and was diagnosed with CTE. One of the symptoms his wife told the New York Times he suffered from were mood swings. Brown just finished his 12th season and was a wide receiver for the Buccaneers this past season.
“Imagine if someone would’ve made [Jackson] feel special,” Brown said. “You think he would’ve drunk himself [to death] — so when people say I have CTE, what do you want me to say? Bro, if you play the game long enough, you’re going to get your a– kicked, you’re going to get hit. Everyone playing the game has been hit hard. You can ask them.”
Brown then brought up Junior Seau, the former New England Patriots linebacker who shot himself in the chest at 43 in 2012.
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