Stephen A. Smith Blames Antonio Brown's Crash Out Behavior on CTE

Behavioral issues, on-field disruptions, and recently murder charges have followed Antonio Brown, which has led many to wonder why his erratic behavior has been even more off the rails lately.

Stephen A. Smith has an idea and blames all of the wide receiver’s issues on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).

The ESPN pundit recently stopped by the Fat Joe and Jadakiss’ Joe and Jada podcast to break down the exact moment that he believes switched up Brown’s brain after Joe spoke about NFL players killing themselves and having their brains studied.

“Personally, I think that’s what Antonio Brown is going through,” Smith said. “That’s why he got arrested in Dubai.”

“He hasn’t been the same since that hit with Vontaze Burfict when he was a Pittsburgh Steeler,” Smith continued. “His whole body seized up like rigor mortis. He has never been the same since. I don’t know how prevalent it is with all these cats, but I do think it’s something that you need to investigate.”

Smith suggests everyone watch that hit; it is pretty gruesome to watch. During the 2016 AFC wildcard game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals, Ben Roethlisberger threw a pass over the middle with 30 seconds left in the fourth.

It was intended for Brown, but it was out of his reach, and just as his feet hit the turf, linebacker Vontaze Burfict slammed right into him with a brutal helmet-to-helmet collision.

Brown hit the turf motionless, and it was later ruled as a concussion that caused him to miss the next playoff game. Burfict was called for unnecessary roughness, which led to an on-field fight, and he was eventually fined heavily and suspended.

His issues started piling up just a few years later, when in 2018 he began rifts with his teammates, coaches, and the media, and clocked his first off-the-field issue when he tossed furniture out of his 14th-floor apartment. The trend continued in 2019 when he was accused of sexually assaulting his former trainer, a string of domestic allegations, child support issues, bankruptcy, and felony charges of battery and burglary.

Brown’s bad behavior reached its peak earlier this year when he fired a gun outside of a celebrity boxing event in Miami, which got him charged with attempted murder after he was extradited from Dubai.

Smith even remembers the time Brown talked himself out of a multimillion-dollar contract with the Raiders when he couldn’t get his conduct under control, which included releasing a recording of a private phone conversation with coach Jon Gruden.

“Remember when he was on the Raiders? I said, “Ladies and gentlemen, it’s Thursday. They got a Monday Night Football game. All he has to do is play and shut the f-ck up, and by Tuesday afternoon, he’s guaranteed 29 million,” Smith said. “He opened his mouth anyway, and they cut him before Tuesday.”

See social media’s reaction to Smith’s diagnosis.