Ever since Antonio Brown announced his retirement, the former NFL WR has been on a generational run online with his outrageously candid and controversial self on the internet. From taunting Tom Brady with a book titled ‘Daddy Doesn’t Live Here Anymore’ to making weird jokes on Gisele, AB has been controversy’s favorite child over the last few years. But there is a reason behind his madness.
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Appearing on the recent edition of ‘The Pivot,’ host and former NFL veteran Fred Taylor bluntly asked AB why he often crosses the line on the internet, especially with someone like Tom Brady. Brown in response had a very proportionate answer as he said that he does all these attention-seeking antics to get more eyeballs on CTESPN, leveraging his personal brand.
“I get paid online. I run ads. I’m running a business online,” AB said. “These kids these days, they don’t watch TV. They watch their phone, so to be able to attract to the masses or the kids, you got to have some sort of entertaining value.”
While most would have known that AB’s statements are attention-grabbing activities, his revelation that he does it to grow CTESPN is truly fascinating. While many thought that CTESPN was a troll account by Antonio Brown as a response to the constant CTE jibes at him by fans, in reality, the media outlet is a very serious business with a proper plan for the future.
Antonio Brown Reveals the Mission and Vision Behind CTESPN
As per Antonio Brown, the reason for starting CTESPN stemmed from the current state of the media. The former NFL star noted that the media has been ruthless in reporting about the personal lives of athletes. Nor do they mellow down the criticism on these athletes. Having been on the receiving end, AB84 knows it best.
“I started CTESPN because the media don’t have a code of ethics in regards of what they have to report you know. Anybody can report anything you want. That don’t mean it’s valid, you know. There’s no code of ethics to say what you could put out.”
While Ryan Clark understood the mission behind CTESPN, he quipped AB on how he plans to bring this mission to fruition. Brown surprisingly had a well-thought-out response as he revealed that he wants to use CTESPN to get stories out of athletes and the way they handled their traumas – both personal and professional.
“Well, we want to be able to cover more stories, talk [to] the legendary guys like yourself, and know see how you made it through your traumas. How do you persevere from being a free agent? How would you persevere from being great and they bring another running back and try to minimize your role? Like how do you handle that?”
If Antonio Brown truly manages to leverage CTESPN’s clout today to something meaningful and powerful like this, it will truly be remarkable.
