Notorious NFL star Antonio Brown blames his ‘super-aggressive’ behavior on teammate’s ‘illegal’ gear

Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown has revealed what he believes is the root of his problems and it has to do with his former teammate James Harrison.

Live on Instagram, the former Pittsburgh Steeler All-Pro player made some curious claims about the origin of his behavioral issues.

“I wanted to tell you guys that I think James Harrison gave me CTE,” Brown said. CTE stands for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disorder often associated with head trauma. Player suicides are often associated with CTE.

Brown and Harrison, a former All-Pro linebacker, played together for the Steelers from 2010 to 2017 with a brief respite in 2013 while Harrison was with the Cincinnati Bengals.

The claim that Harrison gave Brown CTE is curious in itself, but Brown kept making it even weirder.

“James Harrison had an illegal helmet for over 20 years in the NFL and hit me once. And ever since he hit me, I’ve become very aggressive. So blame James Harrison for my CTE.”

First, what is an “illegal helmet”? Brown didn’t make it clear at all. The NFL periodically updates its equipment protocols, which may make certain helmets illegal to wear.

Secondly, Brown did not specify when or how Harrison hit him – whether it was in a joint training session as teammates or as opponents in 2013.

You can watch an excerpt from the video below:

AB: “I wanted to tell you guys that I think James Harrison gave me CTE. James Harrison had an illegal helmet for over 20 years in the NFL. And he hit me once. And ever since he hit me, I’ve become very aggressive. So blame James Harrison for my CTE.” #Steelers #NFL pic.twitter.com/JRz8eh2qZK

— Blitz Guy (@BlitzGuyOG) February 4, 2023

Again, Brown did not specify when Harrison hit him with the “illegal helmet”. But if he uses his “super-aggressive” demeanor as a demarcation point, that suggests something happened in the 2017 season, their last year as teammates.

It was during the 2018 season that Brown’s behavior worsened. Prior to that, he had been largely a model citizen.

There was an incident involving Brown when he threw furniture from a balcony.

There was a time when he was accused of speeding for speeding over 100 miles per hour.

And that’s just for the 2018 season.

This does not include the absolute list of controversies that followed these initial incidents.

Brown, who also played for the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, last played in an NFL game on January 2, 2022, when he unceremoniously dumped the Bucs in the middle of a game.