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When news broke earlier this week of Pittsburgh Steelers' All Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown missing Phase One of the team's voluntary workouts, it stirred up quite the commotion among the fan base and media outlets alike. Brown has since silenced some of those critics after taking to social media to calm some nerves in terms of his willingness to be there for his teammates in 2015.
It didn't take long for fellow and former players to chime in on the situation, and one of those players was former Steelers safety Ryan Clark, who is now employed by ESPN to be an NFL analyst. See what Clark had to say via Twitter.
Don't know y we make a big deal of missed VOLUNTARY workouts. Many players get better training/treatment than the teams provide where they r
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) April 21, 2015
Also, guys are professionals independent contractors. They know their lives & careers go as their bodies go. They'll be working
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) April 21, 2015
Now we he starts to miss mandatory things it's an issue. That means he is willing to sacrifice money in order to make his point!
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) April 21, 2015
Clark makes logical points regarding life as a player in the NFL. It isn't as mundane as the normal 9-5 job so many of us work on a day-to-day basis. Players have to do what is right for them and their families, and not necessarily what the organization may want them to do. Steelers fans should be used to superstars not attending voluntary workouts. One of the most famous Steelers to ever put on a black and gold jersey never attended these workouts, yet continued to play at a high level. You might have heard of him - Troy Polamalu.
Clark's thoughts on missing a voluntary workout is also highly justified. When mandatory minicamp rolls around, and Brown misses, then fans should start to be concerned. In the meantime, Clark's thoughts merely echo the sentiment of Brown on Twitter Wednesday. Brown is going to do what is best for him, and it doesn't seem putting his team or organization in any jeopardy is on his agenda.