Antonio Brown Tells Raiders He’s Retiring Unless He’s Able To Wear His Old Helmet

Antonio Brown is now a Raider and it seems like he brought all the baggage and drama along with him from Pittsburgh.

After arriving to training camp in a hot air balloon, the WR had to leave training camp due to a foot condition later diagnosed as frost bite that was caused by not wearing proper footwear while in a cryotherapy chamber, and has now gone “radio silent” with the team unable to get in contact with him and clueless about his whereabouts.

As if that wasn’t enough, Brown has now told the Raiders that he will retire if he’s not able to wear his old helmet that the NFL has now made illegal.

HBO couldn’t make up story lines better than this if they had to script Hard Knocks…

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Brown filed a grievance against the league on Friday to be allowed to wear the helmet he prefers, not one of the helmets that league rules mandate, according to ESPN.

Per ESPN, Brown is expected to have a hearing about the helmet as early as next week where an arbitrator will decide if he’s able to use his old helmet.

Long-standing NFL rules requiring players to wear certified helmets exclude the helmet that Brown has worn throughout his career as a Steelers, the Schutt Air Advantage helmet. Schutt no longer makes the helmet and the decade-old skew is no longer certified by the National Operating Committee for Standards and Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE). All helmets worn by NFL players must be certified by the NOCSAE.

The rules of course stem from the league’s player safety policies, specifically those in place to reduce concussions.

Sources also say Brown’s absence from training camp has had more to do with the helmet rules than the state of his feet.

Perhaps you can say he’s gotten cold feet in more than just one fashion…

(ESPN)