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The Pittsburgh Steelers played a crucial final game of the season without star wide receiver Antonio Brown and while many thought it was because he was injured it turned out that Brown was benched by the coach Mike Tomlin for missing practice after getting into a heated verbal altercation with a teammate,
Several sources said the Steelers’ decision to not play Brown against the Bengals had nothing to do with any type of knee injury.
The disagreement occurred Wednesday morning during a routine walk-through practice that precedes their regular afternoon practice on the South Side. Brown became disgusted and threw a football in anger at one of his teammates, several sources said.
After that, Brown did not practice the rest of the week. According to a source, it was Brown’s decision not to practice with his teammates.
Apparently Brown showed up to Heinz field on Sunday expecting to play but was not allowed on the field by coaches.
He did not attend Saturday’s walk-through practice and skipped the Saturday night meeting at the team hotel — the latest in missed meetings by the All-Pro receiver. Brown was never on the field for the start of the game against the Bengals and left Heinz Field at halftime, according to multiple sources.
According to several sources, Brown showed up at Heinz Field expecting to play against the Bengals. That surprised several players, including one who called the situation “embarrassing” and “the worst I’ve seen.” That player said the entire situation and the way it was handled affected his desire to play in the game.
Update: The teammate Brown got heated with was apparently Ben Roethlisberger and according to Jason La Canfora things got “ugly”
The altercation that led Antonio Brown's benching last week was with Ben Roethlisberger. Im told it was fairly ugly and the WR was totally in the wrong. He went AWOL essentially for the 3rd time this season dating back to training camp
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) December 31, 2018
Steelers fans not only want Antonio Brown gone but they also want the team to fire Mike Tomlin for losing control of the team.
Please overhaul this coaching staff. Leadership is off the rails in every area.
— brad robertson (@bradrobertson) December 31, 2018
Sources: Antonio Brown missed practices, game after dispute with teammate https://t.co/wVzJIjeP6d via @PittsburghPG
— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) December 31, 2018
https://twitter.com/DrLabcoatMD/status/1079844513139564544