Bucs Have Two Team Psychologists
January 4th, 2022
Joe’s nearly ready to punch a wall listening to all the amateur mental health experts and alleged Antonio Brown insiders.
Nobody with a microphone or a keyboard knows what’s going on with Brown, or what’s been going on the last week or six.
For all anyone talking knows, Brown has been “getting help” for months and is doing fantastically well based on where he was or wasn’t.
Chatting yesterday with Dan Lucas of WFLA-TV, Channel 8, Bucco Bruce Arians noted that the Buccaneers have two team psychologists available for players. And Arians said the organization does a great job letting players know what assistance is there for them.
Joe is really getting annoyed by the tired line of those saying, “I hope Brown gets the help he needs.” Again, Brown might be getting lots of help — for months. It’s not like the guy hurt someone or threatened anyone. He quit his job, said a unique strange goodbye/thank you to NFL fans and walked out the door topless.
Joe has known many dudes in offices from Largo to Lakeland who dream of standing up from their office desks, ripping off their ties and shirts and throwing them into their boss’s cubicle, and then waving goodbye to everyone watching and walking out the door. Some of have done it, and all surely would have if they had Brown’s bank account.
Maybe, just maybe, Brown simply is the kind of guy who doesn’t love football enough any longer to tolerate whatever it is he doesn’t like about it — and whatever standard he must live by to stay in the league. He’s sort of been telling everyone that since quitting on the Steelers in 2018.
Rant over.
January 4th, 2022 at 11:32 am
Or maybe he’s just an ahole Joe. Ben’s getting a little sick of people saying he needs help. It’s pretty obvious he doesn’t want help. Everything is everyone else’s fault. He was a bad kid, who’d probably be in jail or dead if he couldn’t catch a football
January 4th, 2022 at 11:33 am
The whole ‘i hope he gets the help he needs’. Is just well meaning people who don’t want to assume anything and trying to give the benefit of the doubt. It’s a bit of an assumption he wasn’t already getting help (maybe just not the help he needed?). Psychology is never an exact science and you can lead the horse to water but can’t make them drink. By all accounts he was getting at least some form of help. Was it enough? Or is he even willing to face some of his demons and be accountable? Is it flat out CTE like some suggested? Is he just too full of himself to reflect and change? Combo of the above? Who knows. I certainly would never wish the guy any harm, but he hurt the team and he’s gotta figure those things out with whoever he’s got in his corner
January 4th, 2022 at 11:34 am
And yeah Ben.. he tends to want to blame everyone else.. he needs to get last that first if anyone is going to help him
January 4th, 2022 at 11:35 am
I agree with your post completely Joe. I would nitpick one thing.
I think we frequently conflate receiving the opportunity for help with accepting it.
AB does NOT need to get help…he’s had more help than any normal mortal could expect including living in a waterfront mansion of the star player.
What AB needs is ACCEPTING help. You can lead the horse to water and provide two team shrinks and surround him with the classiest players in the league..TB12..ME13..CG14..Gronk…Our entire OL…AB had two professional consultants and the best teammates anybody could dream of having.
So my help for AB and those who truly loves him is that AB ACCEPTS all that available help before his next crash is far more severe…and worse still his next crash with a lack of anger management may harm an innocent person.
ACCEPT that help AB!
January 4th, 2022 at 11:37 am
I couldn’t care less if he gets the “help he needs”. Dude was blessed with talent and threw it away. There are more deserving people – vets, at the top of the list – who I pray get the help they need.
January 4th, 2022 at 11:40 am
Have them two doc check out geno711 and steven007.
January 4th, 2022 at 11:41 am
CTE is a cop out. He’s behaved like this since he was very young, y’all just didn’t hear about it. Like Aaron Hernandez, his behavior was swept under the rug, because of his immense talent. Ben could tell you stories that make your skin crawl. These incidents happened way before any CTE. Now maybe it’s exacerbated his bad behavior. But the mental health excuse spits in the face of people wiho struggle with mental health, and don’t hurt people
January 4th, 2022 at 11:41 am
Sucks that his talent is wasted.
January 4th, 2022 at 11:42 am
I look at AB this way…..he certainly helped us win a Superbowl……and he helped us win 7 games this year in route to the NFC South title and a first round payoff game…
So…..he was a net positive for the Bucs….and we didn’t give up a draft pick for him.
More than we can say for many past Bucs including Americas’ Quarterback…
January 4th, 2022 at 11:44 am
Epic rant joe, you forgot your mic drop
January 4th, 2022 at 11:46 am
Nah. He’s crazy and crazy people act irrationally, against their own interests with unpredictable timing. BPD.
January 4th, 2022 at 11:46 am
Playing arm chair psychiatrists, he exhibits the behavior of a psychopath. He fools people, and can mimic empathy and caring. Everyone that’s tried to “help” him, he’s screwed over. BTW Brady would feel a little different about his friend if he hurt someone close to him. He certainly wouldn’t be praying for compassion
January 4th, 2022 at 11:47 am
Aardvark (I’m not being snarky by the way, I’m using voice and trying to get it to pick up your nonsensical poster name phonetically is impossible so I went for the closest word that made sense in this context), why is it exactly that you think we need help? In Geno’s case he very simply threw back in your face incredibly inaccurate comments that you, aardvark, made yourself. Sometimes it’s not great to look in the mirror for you I suppose. And I simply praised him for doing yeoman’s work. If you’ll notice, and I know you did, many other posters aside from me praised him for the very same thing. It doesn’t have to suck to be you, but apparently it does.
January 4th, 2022 at 11:49 am
Agree with most of what you say here Joe. I just think on top of all of this, there probably is some significant lose synapses and long term brain injury going on with AB. If he was getting help, it went in and out of his ears during those sessions. And he may say he was getting help but lets face it, you can never trust a liar. Vaccination card incident? In AB’s s own demented mind, he went out with a Bang. He won’t get any help. He will refuse it. Sad ending to a chapter in his life which could have had a happy ending. We now have new passengers/players. The ship must sail onward to victory.
January 4th, 2022 at 11:52 am
could be he views the world as his own private amusement park and lacks any humility and gratitude for being paid millions of dollars because he can run fast and catch a ball.
selfishness and self adulation is not mental illness.
January 4th, 2022 at 12:02 pm
I think there’s a lot of guys that keep playing for the money and lifestyle but no longer love the game due to the business side of the NFL. Cam Newton is one that I think will keep showing up as long as you pay him but he’s not pushing himself to improve in any capacity. Dude is living off tape from 3-4 yrs ago. Brown is exceptionally prepared from a physical standpoint….X/Os…but his entire psyche is built around being the exception to every standard, rule, process, etc. He doesn’t feel he should have to conform to anything due to his talent…..and based on history, that WAS probably the case for a very long time. He’s not changing at 32 yrs old….that’s not happening so if you bring him, you’re accepting all the BS that he comes with and you’re trying to balance that with converting his production into W’s.
January 4th, 2022 at 12:06 pm
On other thought….I have seen first hand with an in-law how quickly a person can unravel if they do have a bipolar type disorder and stop taking their meds. For whatever reason, when the meds get them balanced and on track, they all want to stop taking them which leads to episodes like this….and then the cycle starts all over. They get back on the meds, turn things around and are doing fine until they stop or learn they need them. It would not shock me one bit if that’s the case with AB. He was doing well for a very long time, then suddenly his old antics start. Oh well….wont be our problem moving forward.
January 4th, 2022 at 12:12 pm
AB was a bonified superstar with immense talent who would have been a shoe in first ballet HOF if he would have kept his nose to the proverbial grindstone.
He will probably be broke in a few years looking back on his career saying “What If” for the rest of his life.
I don’t wish this guy Ill will but he through away what some of us could only wish for……..
January 4th, 2022 at 12:13 pm
I’m a Bucs fan not an ex-Bucs fan.
Playoffs start January 15TH.
11 DAYS!!!
January 4th, 2022 at 12:17 pm
I go on the assumption that there are three sides to a story. My side. Your side. The truth.
We don’t know what was going on between AB, BA and the other coaches. You may have something, Joe. He may have been asked to jump through one too many hoops or just a hoop he wasn’t willing to jump through and the ankle is his excuse.
Perhaps the ankle was made worse during the game. One of two things happened when BA asked AB to go in and AB refused. Maybe he didn’t communicate effectively about the ankle or not at all. The other is he told BA about the ankle hurting more and Arians blew it off or didn’t care.
I believe this must be investigated by Jason Licht before a roster move is made because I know the NFL will probably investigate. If BA did know the ankle was injured more and tried to force an injured player into the game, could he face fine or suspension?
No matter what, AB didn’t handle the situation well. However he did handle the situation with the kind of drama, style and flair that only AB could do.
Stay tuned. To be continued . . .
January 4th, 2022 at 12:19 pm
Ben will tell y’all a little story. Coach Butch Jones was an early contributor to the early behavior of Antonio Brown. Jones is the guy that once told a player at Tennessee, he betrayed the team in response to said player helping to corroborate a woman’s sexual assault claims. He was Brown’s chief apologist, and fixer in college. A young woman, who was and is a dear friend of Ben’s wife, had an encounter with Brown. To say the least, according to her story, Brown hurt this girl. Jones in turn told teammates of brown that they would ruin the locker room, if they helped the investigation. Needless to say, because of Jones, it turned into a he said she said, and no charges were brought. People have aided abetted brown. This is what happens when bad people face no consequences.
January 4th, 2022 at 12:33 pm
It’s just the “mental health” era that we currently live in. The dude is probably bipolar or just flat out immature. I’m all for ppl getting any psychiatric help they may need, but a guy like AB letting his emotions get the best of him time and time again is inexcusable. This organization welcomed him with open arms and total support and he basically spat in our faces. He can go work on his mental health somewhere else now. We’ve got a Super Bowl to win.
January 4th, 2022 at 12:35 pm
Antonio Brown? Hmm… name doesn’t ring a bell. Of wait, you mean rap and Instagram superstar Antonio Brown? He made his choices. The Bucs made theirs. The only thing we control is our choices. I maintain this whole experiment was a net positive. Brady and the Bucs extracted probably as much value as you can expect from him… and they did it on the cheap. It helped the Bucs win a second Super Bowl in franchise history. But we all knew this was a temporary thing. We knew it would end ugly. The loss of Godwin is more devastating.
January 4th, 2022 at 12:44 pm
Joe, that was the most embarrassing display in NFL history.
That’s a pretty high bar.
WHat are you trying to say or not say?
What are you ranting about?
January 4th, 2022 at 12:45 pm
Arians is going to get suspended or fined somehow?
Our fans are nutjobs.
January 4th, 2022 at 12:49 pm
A net positive? Are you kidding me Sean. They didn’t need him to win the superbowl, the defense did that because the chiefs had 3rd and forth stringers on the o line. Teams hate distractions, and Brown has been nothing but this year. They had constant issues with him all year. You don’t think that has an impact on the team? It may have cost them home field, without which severely diminishes the chances for a repeat. Much of Brady’s playoff success came from home field. One home divisional game, and boom AFC title game. It’s a net negative because I reject the premise that they needed him to win. The only reason they’ll miss him is because of other injuries. What if brown had thrown a tantrum in a tight playoff game?
January 4th, 2022 at 1:00 pm
AB should be ashamed he let his teammates down. These guys went to bat for him after all his drama. They were his boys and went to war with him daily.
January 4th, 2022 at 1:04 pm
He needs to start with himself simple as that too many chances
January 4th, 2022 at 1:06 pm
Maybe it was calculated-
If Bucs didn’t want to placate and compensate AB for the 3 lost game checks and bonus incentives , maybe he figured he could make more money by quitting and then enticing another team (Rams, Chiefs) to sign him for playoffs.
He’s a pretty narcissistic guy and he was already pissed at Bucs before the Jets game, so it wouldn’t surprise me whatever his motives were.
January 4th, 2022 at 1:11 pm
Joe! Spot on. Well said. Well said.
Let’s now all move on. He is part of history. He contributed. But he’s gone and the team will be better.
And who knows if there will even be a drop off. There wasn’t Sunday.
January 4th, 2022 at 1:12 pm
All the talk of “getting the help he needs” is great and some people genuinely need help, but like some have said, he needs to want it. Also though, he may not want help the way they want to give it.
For example, lets say you have issues you are dealing with. You want to talk to someone, to “get the help you know you need”. But when you seek out the help, they perhaps say that the help you’ll get involves a Baker Act situation, along with the info being leaked and possible job consequences.
Also, the medications that can balance things like Bipolar and other “imbalances” can have the effect of being in a permanent fog, effectively negating or neutering that which makes us part of who we are. And before anyone mentions it, yes I do know whereof I speak.
For myself, I will never again seek out that type of “help” again, and if AB feels the same way, I for one don’t blame him a bit.
January 4th, 2022 at 1:13 pm
AB is doing fine- he’s living his best life. He seems to be enjoying himself. He thought it was fun to dance off the Field in New York. He enjoyed telling BA where to shove it. He enjoys calling out the media. He enjoys tossing furniture, stiffing his staff in unwanted ways (yes that has a double meaning, depending on which staff member we are discussing)
January 4th, 2022 at 1:16 pm
I say we get actor Jack Nicholson …. to give him some Anger Management Therapy
January 4th, 2022 at 1:31 pm
Who gives a shat. Move on. Time to worry about the Panthers and the playoffs.
January 4th, 2022 at 1:42 pm
HORRIBLE ANALOGY Joe with the guys in the cubicles wanting to rip their shirts off and walk out.
First off those guys are not in the top 1% of the world. Secondly they are not part of a team that had to be earned. Apples and Squash.
January 4th, 2022 at 1:46 pm
Just got a long text from my wife and it surprised me to see such a long rant. Pretty well written though so I thought I would share my Wife’s thoughts about the AB situation.
Well, “these people”, who wake up every day with a sense of entitlement, start to become ungrateful for the blessings bestowed upon them. They minimize their second, third, and, fourth chances because they feel its owed to them because in their minds, they’re bigger and better than what they really are. In reality, however, AB has proven himself to not be worthy of high praises from fans and teammates alike. There’s a certain line you DON’T cross and he crossed it!! And in doing so, he doesn’t realize its not to the teams demise, its to himself, and only himself. A brilliant athlete, a coveted team mate, a bright redeeming future ahead of him, and all he can focus on is himself. That demonstrates a man’s character, values, and integrity. You.dont.leave.your.team. Ever, under any circumstances!! And to do it in such a way is so appearantly selfish and self indulgent. Suddenly, his
mates didnt matter. Maybe they never really mattered. Im sure some players may be feeling that way. For them, how can they not feel disappointed, let down, and used by this man?? They built him up, and in a second, he tore them down. And Brady, being himself, is a caring, kind hearted man, and he called for compassion for his team mate, for his friend. Its HARD not to be angry about this. But something of this magnitude can’t just be swept under the end zone. He needs to be an accountable adult and until he masters that, his future endeavors will be futile. Can only wish him well, hope he finds his peace and doesn’t become another statistic. And move on. There’s more games to win! At this point, like BA said, let’s focus on the players who did go out there and put their whole hearts into it!! That stunt he pulled warrants an immediate action. AB may have thought the team would BEG
for him back, chase him down the streets of Jersey, shouting and exclaiming hiw the Bucs cant make it w/out him. Sad reality check my friend: they’ve already made it without you, so why stop now?? Lol, negative attention is still attention and AB garnered it like he always done. Only this time, I beleieve, was his last NFL oppty. May hear about him later for raping a woman, illegal dog fights, beating up a girlfriend in an elevator, and the likes of all the other athletes who feel invincible. When his reality hits him, that’ll be a sad, sad, day.
End rant! 🙄
January 4th, 2022 at 1:50 pm
what if AB write an OP-ED in the tampa bay times and says ” I am Sorry for my actions on and off the field and I promise to behave form now on until end of season. I know I have a problem, I’m willing to get some help but please one last chance and put me back in the roster.”
Should we accept his apology and bring him back or time to shut the door and move on ?
January 4th, 2022 at 2:05 pm
Teams screwed over by AB …
1 – Steelers – 2018
2 – Raiders – 2019
3 – Patriots – 2019
4 – Buccaneers – 2021
Four teams, four years. I’d say that AB is on a roll, but I seriously doubt they’ll be a 5th team for him to screw over.
Got a little curious about AB’s early career & what MIGHT have been at the heart of his ‘issues’ with each of the teams he screwed over. Certainly no psychologist (or whatever), but looking at his life summary, it appears that AB has some real issues with ‘authority figures’, dating all the way back to North Carolina Tech Prep, where he was expelled for an altercation with security (sounds so unlike him, doesn’t it). No college would give him a scholarship after that, so he enrolled at Central Michigan & started his football career as a walk-on freshman.
The Steelers drafted him in the 6th Rnd (AB by-passed his senior year) & AB seems to have held a grudge, even against the Steelers. Told folks he picked #84 because ‘Eight times four is 32. Thirty-two teams looked past me, even the Steelers. So every time I go out there it’s a little added motivation.’
Kinda get the feeling that it’s always been about AB and no one else. Tough way to approach life.
January 4th, 2022 at 2:06 pm
Shut the door and move on. Despite what I said above about getting help, he made his bed. The Bucs owe him no further consideration. Bye, Felicia.
January 4th, 2022 at 2:09 pm
Lesko, everyone deserves a third chance. Like the movie Twelve Angry Men, I have been converted. If AB really busted Evan’s, Brady’s & Gronks balls about getting more looks than him, F him, he is not a team player and should be dead to the Bucs. Still not sure how it got to the sidelines but nevertheless my apologies to the BA lovers. Joe, I think players in the past that attacked coaches or when other teammates throw fists like the two WFT players and Ramsey last week is far more embarrassing to a coach than a psycho player doing a departing partial strip tease.
January 4th, 2022 at 2:15 pm
Ted Lasso, Ted Lasso, Ted Lasso. Everyone watched Ted Lasso.
January 4th, 2022 at 2:20 pm
You wife nailed it “Rayjay1122 Says:”. She is spot on.
January 4th, 2022 at 2:23 pm
If we lose the first playoff game we has a whole off season to blame BA and AB. This episode of ‘As the Bucs Turn ” is sponsored by…Phizer. At this point Play the whole practice squad and the subs and send the 1st string to a spa for R&R this week. Let Sherman coach the team and give BA a week with the shrinks. Only then we will be ready for a four game win out to the Souper Bowl.
January 4th, 2022 at 2:33 pm
Lstn
He’s already had 4 chances. Enough.
Your apology is backhanded when you refer to “BA lovers”.
Doesn’t matter at all who the HC is in this situation.
As I’ve said before I don’t agree completely with all of BA’s style, but I would bet more players than not would say he’s a good coach and a good man. Start with playoff Lenny.
January 4th, 2022 at 2:35 pm
Wait till it comes out that AB never had a hurt ankle and was benched prior to his suspension.
Yup you heard it here first.
What was said on the sideline is my own words.
AB said his ankle was hurt. Trainers and Coaches said it wasnt.
AB said, I know its not hurt but yall have been telling me its hurt.
They wouldnt let AB play and he wanted to prior to suspension. So AB was benched prior in ABs view.
AB told them during the game, its hurt and I dont want to play now.
A desperate coach said to get out there. AB said, fk off, I am not gonna run diversion route for Mike. I am HURT.
Than AB got fired. AND went out like a BOSS.
I 100 percent have quite/got fired and have done some spectacular fair well addresses.
HOWEVER, I bow down to the “GOAT” Leader of the Real Life Drama Entertaiment. ie the King of the “Greatest Outburst And Tantrum” team. -AB
Sorry, Ryan Leaf you had a good run.
January 4th, 2022 at 2:44 pm
Joe and fans, good observations and food for thought. I have no special insight to share.
A week from now we will all be focussed on the current status of our beloved Buccaneers and their first playoff game.
January 4th, 2022 at 3:22 pm
Everyone is a self-proclaimed expert. And knows what happened, and what was said, even though they weren’t there, lol
January 4th, 2022 at 3:50 pm
Nevergiveup
That might be the most ridiculous thing ever said, if it weren’t for the times we live in.
January 4th, 2022 at 4:20 pm
I always said Antonio Brown was a keeper. The Bucs gave him a great chance, but it wasn’t enough in HIS mind. We can win The Super Bowl without him. GO UCS! Put AB behind you, we’ve have bigger fish to fry.
January 4th, 2022 at 4:25 pm
Bucs employ only two psychologists? What pikers. There must be 40 or more on this blog.
January 4th, 2022 at 4:53 pm
Good article, Joe, and great wife-rant Rayjay. I doubt we will ever know what went on in his mind. BA or AB is lying about the “I’m hurt” remarks, though, that is for certain. I further doubt we will ever know the truth there, either. Whatever, firing him was the only sensible outcome imo.
January 4th, 2022 at 5:04 pm
Not an expert but plenty of mental health issues in my family, including myself. Nobody improves until they admit they have an issue. Usually happens after rock bottom. This isn’t his rock bottom yet. Unfortunately if he ever improves it’ll be out of sight out of mind, not in football. Well fortunately I mean
January 4th, 2022 at 5:06 pm
Brown simply snapped. He wears his emotions on his sleeve. It’s how he’s wired. Perhaps 30 minutes with nurse ratchet might do the trick. Idk.
January 4th, 2022 at 5:17 pm
Jmark, what Darin says.
January 4th, 2022 at 6:00 pm
AB got a lot of help already.
He is just a diva with his reaction to BA pull him out.
He wanted to stick it to BA and the BUCS by quitting.
In a way he told everybody that you guys will be losing
the game to the Jets without me.
Lo and behold, he never anticipated that the BUCS has
Brady that pulled the win out of his hat.
January 4th, 2022 at 6:30 pm
I wonder if the Bucs mgt. would allow some JBF denizens to pay those team psychologists a visit…
January 4th, 2022 at 6:44 pm
I would like to add some perspective.
As someone who has had multiple head injuries and even had one that lasted months.
I can’t imagine the anger I would feel having someone diminish my actions to not being my own choice, but somehow my brain damage talking. It’s so patronizing. So belittling of the agency I have over my own actions.
It might very well be true. It’s a truth I consider every day internally.
But to hear people do it about me publicly? I might act out more.
January 4th, 2022 at 7:47 pm
AB got his extra 15 minutes of infamy on Sunday. I don’t honestly know what his problem is and no longer care. Playoffs start in about 10 days and I’m not wasting any more time on this nut case. Hopefully, the team isn’t spending one extra minute thinking about him. Probably pretty easy just to keep him on the roster and bury him on the inactive list until after the playoffs.
January 4th, 2022 at 7:55 pm
Tom Brady is a blatant racist. He’s known for this type of stuff not throwing to blacks when their contracts are on the line. Do you think for one second that if Gronkowski was black and Antonio Brown was white that Tom Brady targeted the black man 17 times and the white boy none. He did the same type of thing with Randy Moss. He’s known for giving Black’s second chances and ruining their career in the end. So like I said Tom Brady is a blatant racist a cheat and should have been brought up on charges for gaming fraud when he deflated the footballs.
January 4th, 2022 at 8:31 pm
Betcha betcha betcha AB is broke. Hard to believe but it can be done with the right amount of wisdom and cash. Don’t go feeling like he’s rich, dude got ratted for never paying his cook, or the movers, or anyone else
January 4th, 2022 at 8:49 pm
Lstn
You kill me man.. first it’s all on BA, but now poor AB needs some help.
He just might, but like Darin said . It’s on AB.
January 4th, 2022 at 9:23 pm
@Gerald: did not Tom Brady target Brown & Evans last year to achieve records and bonuses?
January 4th, 2022 at 9:35 pm
Gerald West absolutely CANNOT be anything more than a troll.
January 4th, 2022 at 11:19 pm
The crybaby millennials needing their ‘mental health’ addressed is truly embarrassing. Man up you women. If you’re a nutjob who needs to a shrink, then that’s on you, or its on your mother for drinking while pregnant, but shut up with your whinning in either case.
January 5th, 2022 at 1:30 am
AB is a POS human. Has always been.
Rod Munch, how many groups of people do you have to insult to state your opinion?
Women
Ppl with mental disabilities
A generation
and Mommas
Settle down Sarg, Gomer’s gotta squawk too. Ppl with phallic consuming names shouldn’t point out how much others suck.
January 6th, 2022 at 9:38 am
Psychology says work things out.. Be reasonable. People have personalities, that is , before it turns into a psychosis..
Walking off the field is just drama. Me first.. so that’s a selfish action. Good thing he didnt take his pants off. Haha.
But the analysis goes to what arians said. Arians snapped. He was in the awkward position coaching AB through suspension and injury, when his own psychosis dissed the guy.. helped by media.
Loaded situation. Not boring.. let’s see how the injury news plays out.