New England Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown is known for two different phrases on social media. The first — “Business is Boomin’” — is used to describe how prolific he has been on the field while tallying more than 11,000 receiving yards and 79 touchdowns, although this can also apply to the sheer amount of cash that he has raked in throughout his career.
The other phrase, which has taken an odd twist in recent weeks, is “Call God.” This is what Brown has included as a hashtag when posting about his life, the struggles that he deals with on a regular basis, and essentially every other scenario. However, there are many that don’t quite understand why he is “Calling God” in the midst of sexual assault allegations and other lawsuits that paint him as a less than upstanding citizen. This was made explicitly clear with Brown’s latest post on Instagram.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Tuesday morning, Brown posted a quote on Instagram that discussed the concept of Faith and how it guides him through his daily life. As the post described, there is a “divine orchestration unfolding” that will pave the way for his greatest blessings. Additionally, Brown came to know God as “good orderly direction” for those trying times.
While the reasoning behind Brown’s post makes sense to many, the timing of it was not ideal for others. Yes, it’s important to rely on faith during the trying times of life, especially for those that list themselves as believers. That being said, the majority of these struggles are reportedly self-inflicted, which caused many to react with skepticism or anger when they saw Brown talking about Faith and Calling God.
One of the first responses to Brown’s post on Instagram actually showed support for the wide receiver and his recent wave of negative headlines. Simon Zebo, a fullback for French rugby union club Racing 92, posted “God’s Plan” in the comments section, along with a hashtag about boomin’. Zebo actually spent time with Brown back in early July when the receiver headed to Paris to celebrate his birthday. They worked out together at the Racing 92 practice facility and posed for some photos.
Paris Cotton, a personal trainer from Miami, was another that posted in the comments section to show their support for Brown. Cotton wrote, “Always darkest before the light #CallGod” as an explanation that the situations should get better for Brown in the near future. Whether nor not this pans out remains to be seen, but the Patriots receiver will have support from Cotton.
Despite Antonio Brown burning multiple bridges on his way out of the Bay Area, there are some that still have faith that he is a good person. One example of this is second-year receiver Marcell Ateman, who is currently on the Oakland Raiders practice squad. The youngster who worked with Brown during Organized Team Activities, posted that “God is Great” in the comments to show his support for his former teammate.
There were certainly some that showed support for Brown in the comments section of his latest post, but they were a vocal minority. The dominating number of comments actually made references to the Patriots receiver and his negative headlines. For example, user _itz_braden_ wrote, “Stop calling god and call a lawyer,” positing that at this point, it might be better for Brown to just focus on his legal problems instead of posting about Calling God or anything else.
Oakland Raiders wide receiver Marcell Ateman may be showing support for his former teammate, but he does not represent the fans of the team. Raider Nation is very upset with Brown and the drama that he created during his brief tenure with the team, as well as in the weeks following his release. One user named god.fam.raiders made a prediction about Brown’s future with the league, writing, “Your days are numbered as a professional football player.” This user also included the clown emoji to make his views truly known.
Another comment, and other prediction about Antonio Brown’s future. User david_planelles_martinez wrote that Brown is “Good as gone….they will release you,” in reference to the New England Patriots. Following the allegations of sexual assault making news, team owner Robert Kraft said that he wouldn’t have signed Brown if he had been aware of the civil suit filed against him. Well, Brown is still on the roster even after the allegations — and many others — came to light. However, there are many that believe Brown’s tenure with the team is bound to end in the coming days.
Antonio Brown is such a divisive figure that simply seeing his name pop up in the news sparks a visceral reaction. Words can’t accurately describe the feelings about him and the drama that he has created. In these circumstances, the primary response has been to drop the “clown” emoji dozens of times. Brown is synonymous with this term in the eyes of many, and the comments section on each post is constantly filled with images of clowns.
