If you followed the National Football League this season, you probably remember one of the strangest sideline situations in recent memory involving Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown. A visibly upset Brown ripped off his helmet, jersey and shoulder pads during the game and left the field, and he was dismissed from the team later in the day.
Brown said his frustration stemmed from the fact that the Buccaneers wanted him to play while injured. The topic had quieted down, but Brown reignited the argument yesterday when he shared his X-rays on his Instagram feed. We’re going to take a closer look at them and share our thoughts on the situation in today’s blog.
Antonio Brown’s Ankle Injury
Here’s a closer look at what Brown posted to his Instagram in a screen capture from Tampa Bay Times reporter Rick Stroud’s Twitter.
Antonio Brown released this image of his foot/ankle injury on his IG account with usual claims that #Bucs made him play hurt, Tom Brady didn’t throw him the football and Bruce Arians fired him for being hurt. pic.twitter.com/tLOTOshcfm
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) February 21, 2022
Dr. Silverman’s Comments
We can tell by looking at the X-ray that Antonio Brown is dealing with a loose body in his ankle that was likely the result of unaddressed chronic ankle instability. You can also see that he has edema around the anterior tibial spur. I would imagine that a number of NFL players are or have been in a similar situation as a result of ankle sprains that aren’t fully addressed.
With ankle sprains, many athletes feel that they can play through them because a lot of sprains aren’t all that painful after a few days. The problem is that while pain may be manageable, the underlying ligament damage goes unaddressed. Players then continue to stress these torn and injured ligaments and likely do more damage during practices or games, even if it’s not always obvious. Eventually, chronic ankle instability develops, and problems like loose bodies and swelling can arise when the area is stressed.
The coaches may have told him to play on it because so many players do the same. Playing on it can jeopardize your long-term health, but many players push through this and say they’ll take care of it during the offseason because they don’t want to let the team down. It’s tough because you can see it from both sides, and both probably wish they would have gone about things differently. Regardless of how any situation between the Buccaneers and Brown plays out, hopefully the wide receiver can get the physical and mental health help that he deserves. We wish him nothing but the best going forward.