The Pittsburgh Steelers are 0-1-1 entering Week 3, and wide receiver Antonio Brown isn't happy about it.
Brown spoke to reporters Thursday for the first time since becoming the center of controversy following the Steelers' Week 2 42-37 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Brown quote-tweeted criticism from a former team employee with a "trade me let's find out" response, and then faced discipline from coach Mike Tomlin for being absent from the team facility Monday.
The root of the problem? Turns out it's a simple matter over the Steelers' winless record.
"Between me and you, everyone in the locker room knows what I stand for, knows what I'm about," Brown told reporters. "I'm committed to this program, this organization, I'm fully here. I go to work every day, about my business, and I don't take it for granted. My business is winning; I come here to win. And if we ain't winning, you're damn right I'm pissed off."
The wide receiver's passion came through during the game against the Chiefs, as he looked to be upset even as running back James Conner tied the game with a two-point conversion before halftime. He also didn't appear too thrilled later in the game.
Brown, who also said he accepted Tomlin's discipline for Monday's absence, took issue with reporters for making assumptions about his emotions, pointing out the media doesn't know him. But he offered an explanation as to why he wasn't happy with the clock winding down.
"We're losing the game," Brown told reporters. "We haven't won a game yet. For me, as a Steeler, that's unacceptable. I'm not on the sideline begging for the ball or making statements. I'm pissed off; we're losing. We suck."
Brown declined to make himself available to the media after the Week 2 loss, but emphasized he wasn't hiding from anyone and attributed his absence to being upset over the results.
"I'm passionate about winning," he said. "I signed up to win. I work extremely hard, put in 20 hours a day of my life and my body away from my family to win. And when we don't, I'm pissed off because I take it seriously. A lot of time goes into this, a lot of hard work and effort. So, yeah, I am pissed off."
As for his social media showdown with a former Steelers PR staff member, Brown said he does not want to be traded and is grateful for his time with the organization, which he doesn't take for granted.
Brown also admitted how he engaged with the former team employee on Twitter wasn't the wisest course of action.
"Obviously it was a stupid remark online," Brown said. "I just got to stay away from online with the distractions and letting people get me out of my character. But it's just sad for a guy who worked here numerous years, to say what he thinks."
In the meantime, Brown and the Steelers look to get their first win of the season in Week 3 on the road against the red-hot Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a 2-0 team averaging 37.5 points per game with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick.
It won't be an easy task on Monday Night Football, but as long as the Steelers play as a team and stay away from casting blame on others, anything is possible.
"We got to find a way to win," Brown said. "No excuse. We could point the finger at anyone; we got to look within ourselves, see how we could be the difference to make us win."
