Antonio Brown showered praises on new WNBA stars Angel Reese and Caitlin Clark, stating that despite his comments online, he loves Clark and wants nothing but success for her and Reese.
The former NFL player spoke about Donald Trump, Joe Biden, the WNBA, and more during a candid sit-down with BlazeTV’s Jason Whitlock.
Brown also spoke about his new sports network, CTESPN, but criticized mainstream media in general for writing stories about athletes that lack context.
“The media will often write stories about their perceptions of players. Their perception. And that’s not reality. They need guys like me who show people the real authenticity, authenticity of being their true selves,” Brown explained. He added that it was important to him show people his vulnerability and help people “deal with traumas and how they can deal with traumas to be better.”
The Super Bowl champion was asked why he chose to make comments about WNBA rookie and former college basketball star Clark and what made him target her for “trolling.”
“I trolled her, or I brought attention to her?” Brown asked.
“You did something to irritate her,” Whitlock clarified. “It created the impression you didn’t like Caitlin Clark, but you actually like her.”
Whitlock was referring to comments Brown made about Clark keeping it “hairy.”
The football player would later double down on his remarks despite backlash, but then attended one of Clark’s WNBA games to make amends.
“I love Caitlin Clark,” Brown replied. “She’s one of the best athletes in woman sports right now. She’s one of the best. Can we say that? So, I brought positive attention to Caitlin Clark.”
“Why did she block you?” Whitlock then asked.
“I don’t know why she blocked me. She might have liked me and felt emotional. Like she can’t stand me. Maybe I hit a nerve in her. But it’s Twitter. You know?” he joked.
When asked to be serious for a moment and even take off his sunglasses, Brown obliged and threw even more praise at Clark.
“Caitlin Clark: We love you. There’s no drama here. I’m excited about what you’re going to do for women’s basketball. You’re an amazing player. I love to watch your game. You bring a lot of excitement and energy.”
“For people like me in the media, bringing awareness to you may be the wrong or the right. It’s all in positivity, it’s all in fun and games, and continue to be great. Continue to keep focus of being the best athlete you want to be. Continue to lead women’s sports, pioneering it the way you want to pioneer in it. I have a daughter. They look up to you, look up to everything you guys are doing,” he added.
Whitlock and Brown also discussed Reese, another former NCAA star turned professional player. The two argued over whether or not race has played a part in the media’s treatment of Reese in comparison to that of Clark.
“Whatever level of fame that Angel Reese isn’t getting — because they’re giving it to Caitlin Clark — I would advise Angel Reese, don’t worry about it,” Whitlock stated.
Brown assert that it’s “not about fame” but rather about “opportunity” and the chance to elevate oneself into stardom.
“It’s not a wrong, it’s not playing victim. It’s just stating the truth of the obvious. I mean, it’s not to minimize your role and make excuses. I just feel like we as humans, we should have the opportunity to ask for a fair playing ground, and there’s nothing wrong with it,” he went on.
The wide receiver continued, saying that those who have it tough don’t get to make excuses. You “get through it the right way with God,” he said.
“You’re gonna come out on the other end, but as a human, we can ask for the normalcy of being treated as a human.”
Before the show came to an end, Whitlock asked Brown about his level of interest in Reese.
“Are you a fan of Angel Reese? Or do you like Angel Reese?”
“I’m just a fan of Angel Reese,” Brown smirked. “Angel Reese is a young, talented girl. She don’t need to deal with AB,” Brown said, referring to himself. “AB got a lot of drama. I’m just excited for her success; I want her to have a good career.”
“You would mess that up?” Whitlock asserted.
“Yeah, I’d blow it up,” Brown replied. “I’d ruin her career. … Angel Reese, you’re hot baby. You need to focus on your career. Make as much as you can while you can, stay away from guys like AB because if I touch down, you’ve got to clear the runway. It might be crazy.”
Brown concluded that his antics are actually welcomed in the media and that it can’t be denied that people look forward to hearing his comedic takes.
“They looking forward to ‘Caitlin Clark is hairy,'” he claimed.
He then went on to take shots at former NFL player and podcast host Shannon Sharpe as well.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!