Former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown has always been known to speak his mind, especially on social media where he frequently tweets out rather wild content. But on Friday, he received a ton of criticism from fans for a pretty disrespectful tweet about Buffalo Bills star Damar Hamlin.
Hamlin is perhaps best known for his extremely unfortunate injury suffered in a 2023 game against the Cincinnati Bengals, collapsing on the field and going into cardiac arrest.
Well, Brown made light of the incident in response to a Twitter post that stated to name “A fictional character’s death that you have not gotten over”, posting a picture of Hamlin.
#CTESPN https://t.co/wKHiCiKffK pic.twitter.com/QPEMLf28Pz
— AB (@AB84) March 29, 2024
Naturally, many fans took notice of this dig at Hamlin and immediately blasted him for the rather distasteful tweet.
AB, c’mon man… this young man grew up in Pittsburgh and probably idolized you.
— 💯Eddie “The Anvil” Wildside💯 (@EddieTheAnvil) March 29, 2024
Naw THIS NOT FUNNY
— Joshua Hall (@DaRizzGod40) March 29, 2024
Come on AB be better! 😣
— Stefan Boom (@stefanboom73) March 29, 2024
Remember when you were in the NFL and walked out on your job and teammates?
— Jesse Schultz (@jschultz1226) March 29, 2024
AB you need serious help and I pray you get it.
— Michael Vogel Pro Football Scout for FTSN (@Phinsfan72) March 29, 2024
It didn’t take long for Hamlin to take notice of the tweet, ripping Brown by calling him a “burnt out old head”.
“You just DM me on Monday? guess you playing lame games on twitter with my situation because I ain’t DM you back,” wrote Hamlin. “I pray God don’t ever let me turn into a burnt out old head like you. I used to look up to you damn near shit sad frfr. Talk bout a clone bring the real AB back!”
You just DM me on Monday? guess you playing lame games on twitter with my situation because I ain’t DM you back. I pray God don’t ever let me turn into a burnt out old head like you.. I used to look up to you damn near shit sad frfr. Talk bout a clone bring the real AB back! 🤡👎🏾 https://t.co/AIgLUR60xI
— 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐥𝐢𝐧 (@HamlinIsland) March 29, 2024
The sad part of this situation is that Hamlin likely isn’t lying about looking up to Brown as a kid. He grew up in McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, which is less than five miles from downtown Pittsburgh. Hamlin also notably went to the University of Pittsburgh to play his college ball.
Despite all this, Brown opted to poke fun at a near-death situation from Hamlin, which is a bit shameful as far as I am concerned.