Antonio Brown sounds off on players after Albany Empire gets dismantled 79-34 by Jacksonville Sharks in AFL game
Antonio Brown didn’t hold back his thoughts after the Albany Empire’s humiliating 45-point loss to the Jacksonville Sharks. His team scored only 13 points in the second half, while the Sharks scored in all 10 drives.
As always, the Empire’s new majority owner did not hold back his thoughts. He went on a Twitter rant which is highlighted by this post:
“Complacency kills”
Complacency kills
He also suggested he might clean house after the loss that dropped Albany to 1-4 in the 2023 National Arena League season.
New coach new trainer new players Who wanna Win?????
The five-time All-Pro reiterated that possibility by posting a broom emoji.
🧹
Antonio Brown expressed more frustration after the defending NAL Champions’ latest defeat.
Hard to win a game when to many complain coaches not talking to
All the players takes real unity get Ws
We got veterans out there throwing punches getting kicked out game we got to do better !
I'll be sure give you all
Something better next week @thealbanyempir
He also posted a screenshot of the 63-28 scoreline early in the fourth quarter with the facepalm emoji.
🤦🏿♂️😈 https://t.co/6SzlDI5YsG
The Empire lost the game, 79-34. Meanwhile, Brown ended his tirade by posting a video featuring Albany head coach Tom Menas with the word “leadership.”
Leadership https://t.co/Z32hugefit
The Albany Empire won back-to-back NAL Championships since joining the league in 2021. Unfortunately, Antonio Brown’s takeover led to on-field futility. So far, the Empire’s only win came against the Orlando Predators in their season-opener, 70-33.
Antonio Brown and the turbulent Albany Empire timeline
Brown’s takeover of the Empire involved controversy. Initially, he became a part-owner with a 47.5 percent stake in March 2023. It was also the same day he announced his retirement from the NFL.
He announced he was already the Empire’s majority owner a month later. He bought businessman Mike Kwarta’s stake on April 19, giving him a 95% stake. Steve and Charlotte Von Chiller owned the remaining five percent.
In May 2023, a source told the Albany-based Times Union that the Antonio El-Allah Express Trust Enterprise is the team’s owner, not Brown. However, the seven-time Pro Bowler remains the face of the Empire franchise.
This complicated matter led a security officer to ask Brown to leave the field while he was mingling with the team’s supporters.
Meanwhile, the Empire had a coaching carousel over the past few months. They fired Menas 10 days before the season started, making offensive coordinator Damon Ware interim head coach.
However, Ware left the team on May 1 after not receiving payment for his services. It was later revealed that the players were not paid either.
A day later, Ware and eight Albany players were released. Menas was re-hired, and Antonio Brown said the payroll issues had been addressed.
The issues didn’t stop there, as Brown locked some players out of their hotel rooms after a road game against the Carolina Cobras. Empire acting president Alberony Denis said the players who did not receive room keys were suspended due to an incident on their bus trip.