Antonio Brown bought into the Albany Empire, an arena football team, in March. Three months later, the team was kicked out of the league.
, Brown made reference to chronic traumatic encephalopathy."My CTE acting up F--- all y'all whoever played on my name," he wrote.)
"It means everything to be back here in the community where I grew up as a kid," Brown told a local TV reporter."For me, for the most part, it's about keeping Albany football sustainable and being here forever and offering the community, the kids, the players a great opportunity to be successful."making his name as one of the best wide receivers in the NFL, Darius Prince bounced around as a receiver in the arena leagues.
"I had customers [who were] really, really into it. I would meet them at block parties," said Rafi Topalian, a local jewelry store owner."It's a release for us. This is our home team. You are rooting for it." Nelson, the social media employee who first tweeted at Brown, said the new ownership partner helped fill office whiteboards with ideas for improving the team. He talked to local football players and participated in a meet-and-greet at a local restaurant. He promised the players NFL-level amenities, including personal chefs, smoothie bars and Sprinter vans.
When they couldn't get an answer, Prince, Hollis and another player approached Brown at a local cigar lounge. Brown was there with Ryan Larkin, a local sneaker entrepreneur he'd brought in to the front office.Hollis and Prince said the conversation quickly got heated, and Brown threatened to pull a gun.
"The team itself was days away from not being able to operate this year just solely because of workers' compensation," Gunaris, Brown's accountant, told ESPN. "[Brown] was trying to tell us, 'Don't worry about getting paid.' If the Pittsburgh Steelers didn't pay you, what would you do?" Prince said."This is our livelihood. You can't tell us not to worry about it.""He was telling us he don't respect us," said Melvin Hollins, an offensive and defensive lineman from Jackson State."And we just, in his words, a bunch of broke arena boys.
Some of those released had confronted Brown about their money on the phone call, multiple players said, but others hadn't. Two players said that one of Brown's associates was recording conversations between athletes.When the bus arrived in Albany, the people who had been released couldn't get into their rooms, several players said. Their key cards didn't work.
Brown announced he would play for the Empire at a home game in May, and nearly 3,000 fans packed MVP Arena wearing black-and-gold No. 84 jerseys. But he never took the field, reportedly because the league hadn't processed his paperwork in time. Talbot had also given Denis, the team president, a car to use in exchange for social media exposure. The vehicle disappeared for more than two days, Talbot said, until he finally tracked it down, unlocked with the keys inside, in a parking lot near the bus station. Denis did not respond to ESPN's requests for comment.
In early June, payments for a 68-24 loss to the Predators, a team the Empire trounced in the season opener, were reversed so that some players never got their money, according to Maurice Leggett, the team's fourth and final coach. Initially, Brown was full of ideas for improving the team and promised the players NFL-level amenities. 100 days after Brown arrived in Albany, league leadership discussed what to do about his outstanding bills. Brown owed $21,000 for three months of membership fees and $1,000 for a fine levied for conduct detrimental to the league, according to Levack and Kane.
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