‘HOSTILE TAKEOVER’

Antonio Brown Accused of Stiffing His Players—While Trying to Buy $12M Palazzo

Brown is also accused of locking players out of their own hotel rooms and violently threatening the team’s head coach.

Antonio Brown is once again in hot water after allegedly failing to pay players on the arena football team he owns—all while closing in on a deal to buy a $12 million-dollar Rococo-style palace. The controversial former wide receiver, who owns a 95 percent stake in the Albany Empire, apparently went as far as locking his players of their own hotel rooms and violently threatening the coach, Damon Ware, after he aroused their frustration by withholding their compensation for three games in a row, according to TMZ. “We built a wonderful organization over three years—he came in and killed it,” Ware said, calling Brown’s purchase of the team a “hostile takeover.” Amidst these allegations of abuse and managerial chaos, Brown spared no expense in his quest to acquire the Palazzo Riggi, a sprawling, 20,000-square-foot mansion in Saratoga Springs built by a New York socialite.