Yahoo Finance Steelers GM promises to support Antonio Brown, but 'we've moved on'
Antonio Brown has embarked on an apology tour since his January arrest on burglary charges in South Florida.
Part of that tour has included seeking forgiveness from the Pittsburgh Steelers and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for his tumultuous departure from the team where he earned seven Pro Bowl berths.
“These guys gave me an opportunity when I was 21 years old,” Brown said on Feb. 6. “I'm forever grateful to those guys, to have the opportunity to not only play with those guys but to be in so many amazing moments. We’ve been through so much. I’m forever grateful and indebted to this organization.”
On Tuesday, Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert promised that Brown would always have the personal support of the team. But he told Pro Football Talk that the Steelers have no intention of bringing him back into their locker room.
‘We’ve moved on from that’
“Antonio Brown will always be a Pittsburgh Steeler in our minds from that personal standpoint,” Colbert told PFT Live. “We’ll always be there to support him when he needs help, if he needs help, and that will never change.
“But as Antonio Brown 84, AB, the football player? No, we’ve moved on from that, and we’re comfortable with that. But our support of him, as a person, moving forward, that will never change, and it never changes really for any of our players who move on from us.”
Brown hasn’t played since Week 2 of last season with the New England Patriots, who released him in the wake of a civil suit accusing Brown of rape.
Between the time of the rape accusation and the burglary arrest, Brown has been accused of a separate instance of sexual misconduct and engaged in a public feud with his local police department that stemmed from his live-streaming a profane outburst directed at officers as his children and their mother watched outside his Hollywood, Fla., home.
Will Brown play again in the NFL?
Brown’s future in the NFL remains perilous as the league has yet to announce a conclusion to its investigation into the 31-year-old wide receiver that began after the rape accusation. His agent Drew Rosenhaus has cut ties with him.
While it remains to be seen if Brown can convince the league to take another chance on him, it sounds like returning to the Steelers is not an option.
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