Antonio Brown’s decrease, chaotic possession of Albany Empire

DARIUS PRINCE AND his two lot Albany Empire teammates sought after their cash.

They’d been owed fee by way of direct reserve next their earlier Nationwide Enviornment League recreation — a 55-53 house loss to the San Antonio Gunslingers — the primary since Antonio Brown, the mercurial former NFL celebrity receiver, changed into the workforce’s majority proprietor. The time got here and went and not using a fee.

For guys on one of the most lowest rungs {of professional} soccer, the place salaries get started at $250 in keeping with recreation ahead of taxes, incorrect pay approach incorrect cash for meals, gasoline or hire. One of the higher-earning avid gamers — Prince, the league MVP on the life, who had the lead wage at about $3,000 in keeping with recreation — would support backup teammates so needful that they have been hungry.

Now, on a late-April night time, an uninhabited bus waited to remove them 10 hours south for a Sunday afternoon recreation in opposition to the Carolina Cobras, and the Empire confronted a call: Get at the bus or store out for his or her pay.

They sat of their rooms, in a 2½-star resort between the Greyhound bus terminal and the interstate, refreshing their banking apps and texting in a gaggle chat. Will have to they walk to Greensboro and upcoming deny to play games? What if the league blackballed them? Wouldn’t it be the tip in their NFL goals?

Prince helped bring together a listing of the way a lot every participant was once owed and despatched it to newly appointed workforce president Alberony Denis, who attempted, and failed, to pay them by means of a Zelle money switch.

A number of hours then, Prince won a screenshot that appeared to display a pending fee would begin by way of please see Monday, and Empire avid gamers filed onto the bus. Prince scored 3 touchdowns in a 56-49 loss ahead of some other 10-hour trip again to Albany.

4 months then, Empire avid gamers are nonetheless owed reimbursement from Brown’s tenure, consistent with a neighborhood legal professional who’s making ready possible court cases. Brown, who raised enthusiasts’ hopes by way of purchasing into the workforce in March, is nowhere to be unmistakable, and the Empire are not more. The Nationwide Enviornment League board voted unanimously to kick the workforce out in June for failure to pay 3 months of club charges, consistent with Alex Gunaris, Brown’s accountant, and two league resources.

Brown’s transient, doomed tenure because the Empire’s proprietor was once outlined by way of unpaid expenses, unfulfilled guarantees and erratic habits, consistent with avid gamers, coaches, workforce staff and enthusiasts interviewed by way of ESPN.

“You talked to my guy Alex already, right?” Brown mentioned when reached by way of telephone by way of ESPN, regarding his accountant. “I don’t really got nothing to say. Just talk to my authorized representative.”

Prince and his Empire teammates are left to contemplate their futures and the deflated expectancies of Brown’s tenure.

“He came in promising the world,” Prince mentioned, “and didn’t show for s—.”

ON FEB. 21, the Enviornment Soccer League posted a spotlight reel on Twitter that featured the best participant in its historical past, “Touchdown” Eddie Brown, who starred for the now-defunct Albany Firebirds within the Nineteen Nineties.

“My daddy was a legend,” Antonio Brown tweeted. “Imagine what [that] makes me.”

Ben Nelson, who ran the Empire’s social media and whose oldsters have been enthusiasts of the Firebirds, noticed a possibility.

“Hey @AB84 wanna make history?” Nelson tweeted at Brown, with a trophy emoji.

Ahead of lengthy, majority proprietor Mike Kwarta’s telephone rang.

“It’s f—ing Antonio Brown,” Kwarta mentioned to 2 workforce officers who have been within the room.

Empire executives knew about Brown’s checkered occasion. For all of his Professional Bowl luck, Brown’s profession, with the Steelers, Raiders, Patriots and Buccaneers, was once marked by way of controversy, each ahead of and next he ran off his ultimate NFL garden midgame in January 2022.

Amongst alternative incidents, Brown has settled a lawsuit by way of a former coach that accused him of sexual attack, denying the allegations. He has additionally denied a second woman’s allegations of sexual misconduct. He settled a lawsuit that alleged he threw furniture off a 14th-floor condo balcony onto an engaged lake deck, just about hitting a child.

At the soccer facet, he additionally time and again ignored workforce conferences and was once passed a three-game suspension for misrepresenting his COVID vaccination situation.

The litany of problems resulted in hypothesis about his psychological condition, however next his reduce by way of the Buccaneers in 2022, Brown denied having any issues to CBS News: “I never had a mental health diagnosis. I never had an issue or problem. I don’t take pills. I just got a high IQ.” (On the other hand, in an August social media post, Brown made connection with power worrying encephalopathy. “My CTE acting up F— all y’all whoever played on my name,” he wrote.)

Regardless of all that, and in large part as a result of they badly wanted a money infusion, Kwarta and alternative Empire house owners entertained the considered bringing Brown into the crease.

“COVID crushed us, attendance-wise,” Kwarta mentioned. “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. … And his dad is a great dude. That’s why we thought it would be a good idea to give it a shot.”

Lower than a time then, on March 1, Brown was once in Albany to signal the forms to shop for 47.5% of the Empire for $350,000, consistent with Kwarta. At a information convention at MVP Enviornment the nearest month, there have been extensive smiles, nostalgic communicate in regards to the life Brown spent in Albany as a kid and large guarantees to create the Empire financially tone next a number of failed iterations.

“It means everything to be back here in the community where I grew up as a kid,” Brown informed a neighborhood 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.”

WHILE BROWN WAS making his identify as one of the most highest vast receivers within the NFL, Darius Prince bounced round as a receiver within the enviornment leagues. His large split got here in 2018, forward of Brown’s ultimate season with the Steelers, when Prince performed one preseason recreation with the Eagles ahead of he was once short. He got here to the Empire in 2021 and felt instantly embraced by way of Albany enthusiasts.

“They just welcomed me with open arms,” Prince mentioned. “Definitely a huge family environment. Anybody that puts on those colors and plays for the community, they know you’re away from home, so they try their hardest to make you feel like you’re at home. That’s one of the things I loved about that community.”

The Nationwide Enviornment League, apparently like each upstart enviornment league ahead of it, is without a doubt small-time, its price range precarious. Franchises are run by way of the house owners of native cigar retail outlets and lighting fixtures firms (Kwarta runs a aqua recovery corporate in within sight Schenectady). Groups just like the Empire function on a shoestring price range, partnering with native eating places and alternative companies for meals and products and services in change for exposure on the video games.

However in a park like Albany, the Empire is extra than simply some other native industry. Town has a proud custom of enviornment soccer that is going again 3 many years. The Empire drew about 10,000 enthusiasts in keeping with recreation in each 2018 and 2019, and after they received the 2019 Enviornment Soccer League championship at house, 12,000 enthusiasts got here. They upcoming moved to the Nationwide Enviornment League, next the AFL went bankrupt, and received back-to-back championships ahead of Brown arrived.

“I had customers [who were] really, really into it. I would meet them at block parties,” mentioned Rafi Topalian, a neighborhood jewellery collect proprietor. “It’s a release for us. This is our home team. You are rooting for it.”

Jim Malone has been a season-ticket holder since 1990, the Firebirds’ first season, and has handiest ignored one recreation ever. He cherishes the tight-knit family at video games, the place enthusiasts know every alternative and really feel attached to the workforce.

“You go to an NFL game, and you’re further away from the action but also the people around you are from a much, much wider area,” he mentioned. “Whereas you go to an arena football game and you’re with people from where you live.”

“It’s such a family atmosphere,” he added.

THREE DAYS AFTER purchasing into the Empire, Brown passed out a couple of footballs emblazoned with a workforce sponsor at a Los Angeles hip-hop live performance the place he carried out. Year he was once onstage, any person threw him a move, which he snared one-handed. A video of the moment went viral, and the workforce’s executives have been extremely joyful by way of the exposure.

“My sponsor’s name is on the football, so I get to send him a video of Antonio Brown one-hand-catching a football on stage with his logo on it,” mentioned Jeff Levack, the Empire’s former workforce president. “It was perfect. It was great.”

All through the primary spherical of the NCAA basketball event at MVP Enviornment about two weeks then, Brown made the rounds, taking selfies, signing autographs and developing buzz.

Nelson, the social media worker who first tweeted at Brown, mentioned the untouched possession spouse helped fill place of job whiteboards with concepts for making improvements to the workforce. He talked to native soccer avid gamers and took part in a meet-and-greet at a neighborhood eating place. He promised the avid gamers NFL-level facilities, together with non-public cooks, smoothie bars and Sprinter trucks.

However avid gamers and staff informed ESPN the tenor quickly began to switch prominent as much as the Empire’s April 16 season opener.

All through coaching camp, avid gamers requested the workforce to put up a birthday tribute to Mo Ruffins, a former Empire offensive lineman who died terminating future at week 38. Nelson posted it, but it surely was once temporarily deleted. The avid gamers sought after to understand why.

“People were a little frustrated because these guys were close to [Mo],” vast receiver Dwayne Hollis mentioned.

Once they couldn’t get a solution, Prince, Hollis and some other participant approached Brown at a neighborhood cigar living room. Brown was once there with Ryan Larkin, a neighborhood sneaker entrepreneur he’d introduced in to the entrance place of job.

“We were there to just talk, to give our views about how that’s wrong,” Hollis mentioned.

Hollis and Prince mentioned the dialog temporarily were given warm, and Brown threatened to tug a gun.

“AB looked at Ryan [Larkin] and was like, ‘Hey, man, you still got the AR in the car? Go get it,'” Prince mentioned. “Then I was like, I’m not going to allow this dude to walk out of here after you just threatened us. … After he said that, things did calm down and we had a conversation. But the fact is that he threatened us by telling his assistant to grab his AR.”

Larkin didn’t reply to ESPN’s demands for remark.

BROWN MADE ONE important trade next becoming a member of the Empire: He insisted that the workforce apply in Albany. Brown sought after the workforce to be extra optic within the family, Kwarta and Levack mentioned. The verdict got here with a major monetary repercussion.

The former two years, Kwarta and Levack mentioned, the Empire skirted Untouched York’s prime staff’ reimbursement prices by way of retaining practices greater than an age away in Massachusetts or Connecticut, the place they registered the workforce for industry functions.

Shifting practices to Albany got here with an $1.5 million staff’ comp ticket. Brown’s possession companions attempted to barter a decrease top rate or maneuver round it, however they couldn’t create it paintings.

“The team itself was days away from not being able to operate this year just solely because of workers’ compensation,” Gunaris, Brown’s accountant, informed ESPN.

“And Antonio flat out said, ‘You know what? I’m going to pay,” Kwarta mentioned, despite the fact that he disputed that the workforce wouldn’t had been ready to function.

Then Brown paid for the insurance coverage, Levack mentioned, he began telling public he unwanted owned the Empire. On April 19, 3 days next a season-opening victory over the Orlando Predators, Brown purchased Kwarta’s workforce stocks for $1, making him the bulk proprietor.

ON THE BUS again from North Carolina, the avid gamers nonetheless hadn’t won the primary lacking paycheck, and have been now owed cash for a 2nd recreation, a 56-49 loss to the Cobras. Schoolteacher Damon Ware referred to as Brown, who mentioned the workforce was once complaining excess.

“‘Last week it was food. This week, it’s your money. Y’all need to worry about winning,'” Brown informed Ware and the avid gamers on speakerphone.

“[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 mentioned. “This is our livelihood. You can’t tell us not to worry about it.”

A number of avid gamers pressed Brown in regards to the lacking cash.

“[Brown] got loud,” Ware mentioned.

“He was telling us he don’t respect us,” mentioned Melvin Hollins, an offensive and defensive lineman from Jackson Circumstance. “And we just, in his words, a bunch of broke arena boys.”

Ware mentioned Brown threatened to fasten the avid gamers out in their rooms on the resort in Albany and blow their property.

“‘And all them old-ass players,'” Prince mentioned, remembering Brown’s phrases, “‘I’ll tell the bus driver to pull over and kick y’all off my f—ing bus right now.'”

Ware mentioned he resigned all over the telephone name, and Brown excused a minimum of six avid gamers at the spot, together with Prince and inauguration quarterback Sam Castronova. They rode the left-overs of methods to upstate Untouched York with their careers placing within the stability.

A few of the ones excused had faced Brown about their cash at the telephone name, a couple of avid gamers mentioned, however others hadn’t. Two avid gamers mentioned that one among Brown’s friends was once recording conversations between athletes.

Gunaris then informed ESPN that the bills have been behind schedule when the workforce switched banks.

When the bus arrived in Albany, the public who were excused couldn’t get into their rooms, a number of avid gamers mentioned. Their key playing cards didn’t paintings.

“Dude just has no respect for nobody,” Prince mentioned.

AS HE CYCLED via coaches and excused avid gamers, Brown additionally alienated difference staff and industry house owners round the town who had supported or subsidized the Empire, consistent with a couple of resources.

Nelson, the worker who had first reached out to Brown, left the workforce next Brown tagged him in a since-deleted tweet and referred to as him names — together with a slur — supposed to demean his psychological acuity, consistent with a screenshot of the tweet reviewed by way of ESPN. Nelson believed Brown mistook him for a tender fan who were important of Brown on Twitter.

Tom Menas, the professor who had led the Empire to back-to-back championships however were fired ahead of the season, was once rehired on Would possibly 3 however resigned 17 days then — the 3rd training trade in simply 5 video games.

With just about nobody with enjoy left helming a soccer franchise, John Kane, an Albany local who held stocks in each the Empire and the Cobras, mentioned he was once requested to go Brown and his friends in the course of the plain issues of recreation presentation, from the nationwide anthem to offering an ambulance on recreation month.

Brown introduced he would play games for the Empire at a house recreation in Would possibly, and just about 3,000 enthusiasts packed MVP Enviornment dressed in black-and-gold Disagree. 84 jerseys. However he by no means took the garden, reportedly for the reason that league hadn’t processed his forms in life.

Regardless of his speak about his father’s historical past with Albany, Brown and his workforce gave the impression fed up within the Empire’s legacy, consistent with Hal Talbot, an established Empire fan and gross sales supervisor at workforce sponsor Fogg’s Car.

Talbot had indubitably with the workforce to commemorate Ruffins, the overdue offensive lineman, at a recreation, and had made hundreds of stickers with Ruffins’s quantity handy out.

“[The front office] kind of laughed at me and [said], ‘Well, we don’t know who this is,'” Talbot mentioned.

Talbot had additionally given Denis, the workforce president, a automotive to virtue in change for social media publicity. The automobile disappeared for greater than two days, Talbot mentioned, till he in any case tracked it ill, unlocked with the keys inside of, in a parking accumulation akin the bus station. Denis didn’t reply to ESPN’s demands for remark.

In Would possibly, Frank Cappello, a neighborhood eating place proprietor, referred to as the police next Larkin, who known himself as Brown’s supervisor, purchased $1,000 significance of meals for the workforce, consistent with a police document. “The food has been delivered but [Larkin] has failed to pay,” the document learn.

Brown apologized and paid Cappello next the tale accident social media and the native information, and incorrect fees have been filed. A number of workforce contributors mentioned native sponsors restrained offering meals vouchers or pregame foods.

Many avid gamers did ultimately obtain tests for the video games they performed, despite the fact that some say they weren’t paid the whole quantities they have been owed. Gunaris informed ESPN that some avid gamers had their pay deducted as a result of lacking apparatus like helmets and shoulder pads.

In early June, bills for a 68-24 loss to the Predators, a workforce the Empire trounced within the season opener, have been reversed in order that some avid gamers by no means were given their cash, consistent with Maurice Leggett, the workforce’s fourth and ultimate professor.

Fourteen avid gamers and coaches say they’re nonetheless owed reimbursement in some method, 5 of whom weren’t paid for a unmarried recreation, consistent with Kelly Magnuson, an Albany-based attorney. Some are in the hunt for extra damages.

Round the similar life, Brown was once kicked out of the Leisure Inn Specific for smoking marijuana and enjoying deafening track, consistent with the Albany Times-Union. (Resort representatives declined to talk with ESPN.) In consequence, the workforce, which completed the season with a 1-6 report, needed to advance to some other resort, the place the rooms have been grimy and had bedbugs, Leggett mentioned. Kane attempted to support, however with Brown in price, nobody sought after to get entangled with the Empire.

“Every connection I had for housing said, ‘Does AB still own the team?'” Kane mentioned. “I said, ‘Yeah, he does.’ They said, ‘I’m not going to do it.'”

BY MID-JUNE, ABOUT 100 days next Brown arrived in Albany, league management mentioned what to do about his remarkable expenses. Brown owed $21,000 for 3 months of club charges and $1,000 for a fantastic levied for habits unfavorable to the league, consistent with Levack and Kane.

In a information reduce, the league mentioned Brown had to begin with paid his April charges however had due to this fact “challenged” the fee and retracted it. His workforce demanded evidence from the league that the alternative groups have been paying their dues, Leggett mentioned.

The league gave Brown till midday on June 15 to pay up. Then the time limit handed, the board voted unanimously to oust the Empire from the league, with seven video games nonetheless left to play games.

League commissioner Chris Siegfried declined ESPN’s request for remark.

Leggett was once in a workforce assembly next apply when avid gamers began banging on his door. “Was it true?” they requested. He didn’t know the workforce were dissolved till the avid gamers confirmed him a information tale.

Some avid gamers temporarily discovered untouched groups, however those that couldn’t have been left stranded in Albany, with out paychecks for the left-overs of the season.

“Two guys reached out,” Kane mentioned. “They were sleeping on people’s fancy couches. I picked them up and gave them a moving job for the day. Just to give them enough money to give them a plane ride home.”

Magnuson, who represents the 14 avid gamers and coaches in the hunt for reimbursement, mentioned her company continues to be vetting extra claims from former Empire staff. It’s hazy when they may document go well with.

“[What the players are claiming they’re owed] is not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things for someone who owns a football team,” she mentioned. “But it’s a lot of money for these guys who are working class.”

Brown left Albany as abruptly as he gave the impression. When requested in regards to the possible court cases, Brown informed ESPN, “I don’t got anything to say about nobody. People [are] always dragging my name saying they’re coming after me.”

Brown nonetheless owns the Empire’s place of job furnishings and the turf garden, consistent with Bob Belber, normal supervisor of MVP Enviornment, however hasn’t got rid of any of it. He’s now specializing in his track profession, Gunaris mentioned, with plans to walk on excursion, reduce a untouched novel and establishing a report label. In August, TMZ reported {that a} pass judgement on issued an series for Brown’s arrest next he didn’t pay kid backup, despite the fact that he then posted an image of a receipt on Instagram that recommended he had paid.

In Albany, the Nationwide Enviornment League, which dwindled to only 3 groups next the occasion season, seems to be lifeless. Kwarta and Belber, then again, are in discussions to deliver enviornment soccer again to town with untouched house owners in some other league. If it does go back, Malone the superfan will likely be in a position.

“I’ll be right back in my seats,” he mentioned.

ESPN researcher John Mastroberardino contributed to this document.