The Pittsburgh Steelers won their game against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, but Antonio Brown made news by flipping over a cooler and ignoring a coach on the sideline after a busted play. This became news because he made a spectacle of it, but it is a good time to talk about how guys handle their emotions when they are playing football. There are some good examples of guys who know how to keep their cool, and they should be used as role models in an NFL that is filled with too much machismo and not enough competition.
The cooler flip
Flipping and beating up a cooler is not how to respond to a busted play.
If you are not aware of the play, Brown was wide open down the field, but Big Ben missed him in the progression. The ball went somewhere else, and Brown was mad. You can just walk up to the quarterback and say, "dude, I was wide open." That is all you have to do, and you can fix these problems. First of all, Brown is going to be open like that again in the future, and he will probably catch anything else that is thrown at home. Big Ben does not need to watch this guy kill a cooler. I am willing to bet you that Big Ben realized what he had done right after he did it. The guy has won two Super Bowls. He is not stupid.
Get over it
Antonio Brown needs to learn how to get over it. You have already won your division because everyone else in it is terrible.
You will win at least 10 games without even trying that hard, and you have a defense that can get you back to the AFC title game. Are you really kicking a cooler in week four over one play? I think that something else is going on, or Brown is just the most immature person on the Steelers roster. Hopefully, someone will go to him and tell him that he needs to stop it.
There is no reason for this, and it makes the whole team look bad.
Why does hits happen?
You know there is a rookie summit where people come in and explain where to live, how to manage your money, etc. These guys need to be given training in basic coping skills, and they all need to be in therapy. I am sorry, but you do not kick a cooler unless you are really mad about something else.
Maybe Brown had a bad week, but this is just not cool. You are surrounded by 52 other guys who are supposed to be on your side. Can't you walk up to them and talk it out? It would take all of five seconds to do. We always say that football is a violent game, but it may be more emotionally violent than anything else. Taking out frustrations and being angry is not a good way to play. That is a good way to get hurt. If you have problems, you need to take a kickboxing class, learn how to align your shakras, or go to yoga. Kicking the cooler is unbecoming.