About a week ago, Antonio Brown had a rather infamous meltdown. As fans of football already know, the meltdown ended with the former Tampa Bay Buccaneer stripping down to his pants and stomping off the field.
Now, this infamous meltdown is being made into a non-fungible token (NFT).
TMZ is reporting that the so-called “Antonio Brown meltdown” is going up for auction on Jan. 13, on the ViralHeir website, and could go for a reported $1.5 million. Plus, the site is already boasting the NFT as something that “will change” the face of “sports memorabilia.”
“On January 2, during an NFL game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New York Jets, wide receiver Antonio Brown removed his jersey, tossed his uniform into the crowd, and abruptly left the field,” reports the site. “The moment, captured by a Jets fan, has now been shared millions of times in one of the most viral moments in recent sports history. You can now own that viral moment in an NFT auction that will forever change the landscape of sports memorabilia.”
But now, some questions are being raised about the ethical concerns surrounding the NFT sale. The old adage of “just because you can, doesn’t mean you should” seems to be ringing true here.
Antonio Brown Meltdown NFT: Good Business, Or Bad Exploitation?
While, certainly, this is how capitalism works, there’s something to be said for drawing a line at exploiting the vulnerable — even if the vulnerable in question is Antonio Brown. According to the NFL Network (via 98.5 FM The Sports Hub), the sports star reported that he wasn’t feeling like himself on the day the meltdown happened.
From @GMFB: How and why did #Bucs WR Antonio Brown end up storming off the field shirtless to end his Tampa Bay career? pic.twitter.com/nd6xq0xMLp
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 3, 2022
“They believed that he was healthy. Antonio Brown did not believe that he was healthy,” Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network said. “He had been battling an ankle injury for the last several weeks. He did not practice Thursday, he did not practice Friday. I know personally, he had some doubts whether he would be able to be out there and play. What he told the staff, from what I understand, is that he was not going into the game because, in his mind, he did not believe he was healthy.”
At what point do we, as a society, decide that we shouldn’t exploit the mentally unwell, especially for profit?