{"id":434566,"date":"2023-09-03T07:16:22","date_gmt":"2023-09-03T07:16:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/?p=434566"},"modified":"2023-09-03T07:16:22","modified_gmt":"2023-09-03T07:16:22","slug":"antonio-browns-albany-empire-the-ship-that-sunk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/antonio-browns-albany-empire-the-ship-that-sunk\/","title":{"rendered":"Antonio Brown&#8217;s\u00a0Albany Empire: The Ship That Sunk"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Eddie Brown, a legendary player for the Albany Firebirds, caught touchdown throw after a touchdown in the 1990s, according to a video shared on February 21 by the Arena Football League&#8217;s official account. Football in the early 1990s was characterized by large shoulder pads, hard collisions, and over-the-shoulder receptions. Antonio Brown, @AB84, Brown&#8217;s son and a receiving expert, saw the compilation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy daddy was a legend,\u201d Brown wrote in a quote-tweet of the video. \u201cImagine what that&#8217;s [sic] makes me.\u201d There are a number of ways to answer that: Wide receiver on the NFL All-Decade team, Super Bowl champion, alleged lawbreaker, troublemaker, and creator of the most spectacular take-this-job-and-shove-it play in recent NFL history.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Antonio Brown was the best WR on the planet from 2013-2018 and it wasn&#39;t even close. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/hhNDP2KP5E\">https:\/\/t.co\/hhNDP2KP5E<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/wQLuFcKCVR\">pic.twitter.com\/wQLuFcKCVR<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Billy Hartford (@BudDupreeFan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BudDupreeFan\/status\/1695511580362833932?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 26, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Hey @AB84, wanna make history?&#8221; Nelson tweeted at Brown, with a trophy emoji.<\/p>\n<p>Mike Kwarta, the main owner, received a call shortly after.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s f&#8212;ing Antonio Brown,&#8221; Kwarta said to two team officials who were in the room.<\/p>\n<p>Brown was only a year away from his dramatic last act as an NFL player\u2014ripping off his Tampa Bay Buccaneers jersey and stomping off the field in the middle of a game against the Jets\u2014when the Empire&#8217;s social media account contacted him. A career distinguished by both majestic peaks and unfathomable troughs came to a sad end as a result. Over the course of 12 seasons, he concluded his career with 12,291 receiving yards and 83 touchdowns, which are among the highest results ever for an NFL receiver.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This NFL WR workout in 2011 \ud83d\ude33<\/p>\n<p>Chad Ochocinco, Andre Johnson, Antonio Brown, and Santana Moss \u26a1\ufe0f<br \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/zsFqNEDjHF\">pic.twitter.com\/zsFqNEDjHF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Footballism (@FootbaIIism) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FootbaIIism\/status\/1696592554974663113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 29, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>However, he also spent a large portion of his career getting into and out of trouble. He was suspended for eight games for personal conduct infractions and pleaded not guilty to accusations of burglary and violence, among other offenses. After parting \u00a0ways with Pittsburgh in 2018, he only got a second chance in New England, and a third in Tampa Bay, thanks to the intervention of Tom Brady<\/p>\n<p>Despite this, Kwarta and other Empire owners considered the idea of bringing Brown into the fold, mostly because they desperately needed a cash injection.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Players from Antonio Brown&#39;s arena league team are drafting up class action lawsuits for unpaid wages, and one player says Brown even threatened to pull a gun on them.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;Dude just has no respect for nobody.&quot;<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/8zquqZJ0zd\">https:\/\/t.co\/8zquqZJ0zd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Steelers Now (@PghSteelersNow) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/PghSteelersNow\/status\/1697679921588351215?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;COVID crushed us, attendance-wise,&#8221; Kwarta said. &#8220;We needed something to jump-start it, and the idea was that he would sign autographs, take pictures, kiss the babies and let us run football. &#8230; And his dad is a great dude. That&#8217;s why we thought it would be a good idea to give it a shot.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Brown was in Albany to complete the papers to purchase 47.5% of the Empire for $350,000 less than a week later, on March 1, according to Kwarta. At a news conference at MVP Arena the next day, there were broad smiles, nostalgic talk about the time Brown spent in Albany as a child and big promises to make the Empire financially sound after several failed iterations.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Antonio brown <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Z4P392QTeJ\">pic.twitter.com\/Z4P392QTeJ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; J\ud83c\udccf (@jace2x_) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jace2x_\/status\/1697633130704777651?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 1, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It means everything to be back here in the community where I grew up as a kid,&#8221; Brown told a local TV reporter. &#8220;For me, for the most part, it&#8217;s about keeping Albany football sustainable and being here forever and offering the community, the kids, the players a great opportunity to be successful.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2>Antonio Brown&#8217;s\u00a0Albany Empire: The Ship That Sunk<\/h2>\n<p>After players weren\u2019t paid, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.albanyempirenal.com\">Albany Empire<\/a>, an arena football team in which Antonio Brown owns a 95% stake, appears to be in total disarray. After a misdemeanour incident involving delayed payments, the coach and many players left the team.<\/p>\n<p>For a football team captained by Antonio Brown, things were going about as expected.<\/p>\n<p>The former NFL player has been charged with several felonies, including but not limited to domestic violence, sexual assault, failure to pay child support, and attacking a moving truck driver (he resolved a rape case with his former trainer in 2021).<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Antonio Brown has been throwing that &quot;cracker&quot; word around for a long time. I can&#39;t believe that it just gets swept under the rug. Racism isn&#39;t one of the symptoms of CTE so he doesn&#39;t get to use that as an excuse. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/2vpUvbGHd8\">pic.twitter.com\/2vpUvbGHd8<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Billy Hartford (@BudDupreeFan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BudDupreeFan\/status\/1696264677448434117?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 28, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Every Friday, players and coaches are expected to receive their pay, according to the Albany Times-Union. Despite not receiving payment on April 28, two days before the game, the team played a game against the Carolina Cobras this past Sunday despite being paid last on April 21.<\/p>\n<p>According to Rubel, Empire\u2019s acting president Alberony Denis stated that \u201cthe lack of payment was due to issues with the payroll processor\u201d that had existed since Mike Kwarta, the previous owner, had been in charge.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">It&#39;s always tough to go back and watch Antonio Brown highlights&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>AB was a legend and it&#39;s a shame how his career panned out<\/p>\n<p>Anyways, here&#39;s 7 minutes of film that shows why he is the greatest Steelers WR of all time <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ZyfXjIRcen\">pic.twitter.com\/ZyfXjIRcen<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Frank Michael Smith (@frankmikesmith) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/frankmikesmith\/status\/1697260576047878340?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 31, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Empire had to choose between boarding the empty bus waiting to transport them 10 hours south to play a Sunday afternoon game against the Carolina Cobras on a late-April evening or refusing to board until their pay arrived.<\/p>\n<p>They were checking their banking apps and messaging in a group chat while sitting in their rooms at a two-star motel between the Greyhound bus terminal and the freeway. Should they go to Greensboro just to decline to participate? What if they were banned by the league? Would that put a stop to their NFL aspirations?<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Just trying to read about Antonio Brown ruining an arena franchise and the D2 echoes begin attacking me. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/az2uMuK7EN\">pic.twitter.com\/az2uMuK7EN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Andy W \ud83e\udd4c (@hubbernation) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hubbernation\/status\/1697939199997968754?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 2, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Prince assisted in compiling a list of the amounts due to each player, which he delivered to the team&#8217;s recently appointed president Alberony Denis. Denis attempted, but failed, to pay the players via a Zelle cash transfer.<\/p>\n<p>The players were informed they would be paid on Monday afternoon, according to Denis.<\/p>\n<p>Both the delayed payment and the player\u2019s resignation from the squad were verified by head coach Damon Ware.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Where would you rank Antonio Brown among the greatest route runners of all time ? <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6xrbOzC0VG\">pic.twitter.com\/6xrbOzC0VG<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; ColdHands (@Akarei8) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Akarei8\/status\/1697023033397891477?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 30, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>According to a local attorney who is drafting prospective cases, Empire players are still due money from Brown&#8217;s stint four months after his departure. Brown, who sparked excitement by investing in the squad in March, has vanished, and the Empire have ceased operations. According to Alex Gunaris, Brown&#8217;s accountant, and two league sources, the National Arena League board unanimously decided to expel the club in June for failing to pay three months&#8217; worth of membership dues.<\/p>\n<p>According to players, coaches, club personnel, and fans surveyed, Brown&#8217;s brief, tragic ownership of the Empire was characterized by unpaid debts, unmet promises, and unstable conduct.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Antonio Brown reportedly threatened to pull out a gun on a few former Albany Empire players who were asking for unpaid wages. Here&#39;s what Darius Price, the team&#39;s MVP, said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAB looked at Ryan [Larkin] and was like, \u2018Hey, man, you still got the AR in the car? Go get it.&#39; Then I\u2026<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Blitzburgh (@Blitz_Burgh) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Blitz_Burgh\/status\/1697769369764311077?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 2, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The Empire was more than just another local company in a town like Albany. Arena football has a storied history in the city that dates back three decades. In both 2018 and 2019, The Empire averaged approximately 10,000 spectators each game, and 12,000 people showed up to watch them win the 2019 Arena Football League title at home. After the AFL filed for bankruptcy, they transferred to the National Arena League, where they won back-to-back titles prior to Brown&#8217;s arrival.<\/p>\n<p>Blackjacks, Valor, Brigade, and Firebirds are just a few of the former Albany teams that Kwarta is the intellectual property owner of. They could all be revived, or they could create a completely new team.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE-\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Michigan Team Paying Tribute To Their Suspended Coach Jim Harbaugh Did Not Sit Well With The Fans\" href=\"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/michigan-team-paying-tribute-to-their-suspended-coach-jim-harbaugh-did-not-sit-well-with-the-fans\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Michigan Team Paying Tribute To Their Suspended Coach Jim Harbaugh Did Not Sit Well With The Fans<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Eddie Brown, a legendary player for the Albany Firebirds, caught touchdown throw after a touchdown in the 1990s, according to a video shared on February 21 by the Arena Football League&#8217;s official account. Football in the early 1990s was characterized by large shoulder pads, hard collisions, and over-the-shoulder receptions. Antonio Brown, @AB84, Brown&#8217;s son and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":408624,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[7799,412,7797,14616,14615,2211],"class_list":["post-434566","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl","tag-albany-empire-non-payment","tag-antonio-brown","tag-antonio-brown-albany-empire","tag-antonio-brown-sexual-harassment","tag-n-albany-empire","tag-nfl-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434566","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434566"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434566\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/408624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434566"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434566"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yebscore.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434566"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}