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The term "going off" has multiple meanings in today's society. If a player has a tremendous game with ridiculous statistics, someone might say, "Man, he just went off."
Then, there is the more traditional meaning of the term, which is to flip out and lose their cool. For instance, "The Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown went off on that referee in that joint practice with the Detroit Lions."
Well, to be honest, that actually happened.
In what was a spirited, and intense, practice between Pittsburgh and Detroit, Brown stole the show, for multiple reasons. Again, he had a very productive day catching the football, but also for all the wrong reasons. With just a few plays left in practice, Brown felt he was interfered with on a play and was relentless in his berating of the referee.
See what some had to say who were watching it live:
No joke: Antonio Brown in the verge of being ejected... from a **preseason joint practice** for unsportsmanlike conduct toward an official
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) August 10, 2016
No joke: Antonio Brown in the verge of being ejected... from a **preseason joint practice** for unsportsmanlike conduct toward an official
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) August 10, 2016
AB chirps at ref for awhile. Official walks past us, says that unsportsmanlike conduct in a game. Says he'll report AB to NFL for it anyway.
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) August 10, 2016
Antonio Brown to ref: "You had a free lunch and you still haven't made a call today."
— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly_Trib) August 11, 2016
Although the last quote from Brown was comical, it doesn't necessarily excuse his behavior. Whatever Brown said, and did, over the two day joint sessions, caused the official to release the following statement regarding Brown's antics on the field.
There's a lot of things I could say about this, but I'll just leave it here for those interested pic.twitter.com/zaYGtowDqz
— Jon Ledyard (@LedyardNFLDraft) August 11, 2016
The real shame of the situation was it overshadowed what was reportedly a great practice. There were big hits, live drills and players who were showing some tremendous potential for both teams. However, what everyone is talking about is Brown's behavior on the practice field.
Brown did post this tweet on his verified Twitter account Wednesday night:
I was extra enthusiastic today... Nothing but respect for the officials #HeatoftheMoment #Ilovemyjob #Boomin #CuEuPu #CallGod
— Antonio Brown (@AntonioBrown84) August 11, 2016
Take that for what it's worth, but the Steelers were well represented by some younger players, specifically L.J. Fort, Anthony Chickillo, Eli Rogers and Javon Hargrave.
The Steelers will practice Thursday, but the practice is closed to the public as the team prepares for their first preseason game Friday at Heinz Field.
Photos and Video
No shocker here, @SI_PeterKing says @AntonioBrown84 stood out at #SteelersCamp.
— Missi Matthews (@missi_matthews) August 10, 2016
Here's why: https://t.co/8P5Gd4gUxx pic.twitter.com/p9dxKgde0X
. @Dat_Dude_Nix having fun before practice. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/KsqsNzgHnM
— Teresa Varley (@Teresa_Varley) August 10, 2016
. @Jay_MostWanted has been looking good. #Steelers pic.twitter.com/mX9MoJ4HU7
— Teresa Varley (@Teresa_Varley) August 11, 2016
Squad. @MikeMitchell34 @lawrencetimmons @VinnyVidiVici98 @RyanShazier #Steelers pic.twitter.com/kUJRWhgIzK
— Teresa Varley (@Teresa_Varley) August 11, 2016