Just weeks after taking full ownership of the franchise, the arena football team owned by Antonio Brown is in disarray, with the former NFL star having to take to Twitter to hunt down new players midseason.
Brown purchased a stake in the Empire, a National Arena League team, in March alongside his father Eddie, who played arena football in Albany when the franchise was the Albany Firebirds. According to the Albany Times Union, Brown took full control of the team in April after what former co-owner Mike Kwarta called a “power struggle.”
Now, just weeks later, head coach Damon Ware and several players have reportedly left the team and say they haven’t been paid. The team reportedly was not paid prior to last weekend’s game against the Carolina Cobras. Ware and players such as quarterback Sam Castronova and last year’s team MVP Darius Prince were reportedly not given room keys for the team hotel in Albany upon return.
The team’s acting president Alberony Denis told the Times Union that payment issues were due to issues with a payroll processor due to the ownership transition.
There was also an incident on the team bus returning from the game against the Cobras that led to the police being called to the team hotel. The investigation into the incident is ongoing but police were called on suspicion of aggravated harassment, per the New York Post.
Brown tweeted Sunday night:
Who's the best players in the country who want to play for @thealbanyempir opportunities knocking 3P at Steak
— AB (@AB84) May 1, 2023
He then posted Tuesday that he had apparently found some new players for the team.
New Players Alert 🚨
— AB (@AB84) May 2, 2023
This isn’t the first incident since Brown took over in Albany. During the team’s first home game, Brown went on the field to meet fans before getting into an altercation with stadium security after being told to leave the playing surface. Brown told the security guard “It’s my field. I’m the owner.” But later, MVP Arena general manager Bob Belber told TMZ Brown was in the wrong and needed to leave the field for safety purposes ahead of a halftime show.
