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Antonio Brown's Team Kicked Out of Arena League

The Arena Football League has had enough of former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown.

Stephen Thompson

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PITTSBURGH -- The National Arena League has kicked the Albany Empire after their owner, former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown, has failed to make mandatory operating payments to the league and pay a fine for conduct detrimental to the league.  

The league said in a news release the decision was reached "after an emergency conference call of the members in good standing to discuss the Empire’s failure to pay their league-mandated and overdue assessments," according to a report from NFL Insider Dov Kleiman. 

Brown's short tenure as owner of the Empire has been riddled with scandal. Whether or not he actually owned any part of the team was in question earlier in the year. He was then kicked off of the field by security prior to a home game when he was greeting fans. 

The head coach of the now 1-6 Empire resigned midseason and players have complained that ownership has not been paying salaries this season. Brown also promised to suit up for a game, which earned the Empire a sold-out crowd, but he did not appear in the game, citing league paperwork that was not yet complete. 

Brown said in an interview last week that he would take his team from the NAL to the Arena Football League next year and Tweeted "Major leagues not minors," shortly after the announcement that they had been barred from the NAL. 

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Stephen Thompson
STEPHEN THOMPSON

Stephen Thompson graduated with a bachelor's degree in communications and political science from Pitt in April 2022 after spending four years as a sports writer and editor at The Pitt News, the University of Pittsburgh's independent, student-run newspaper. He primarily worked the Pitt men's basketball beat, and filled in on coverage of football, volleyball, softball, gymnastics and lacrosse, in addition to other sports as needed. His work at The Pitt News has won awards from the Pennsylvania News Media Association and Associated College Press. During the spring and summer of 2021, Stephen interned for Pittsburgh Sports Now, covering baseball in western Pennsylvania. Hailing from Washington D.C., family ties have cultivated a love of Boston's professional teams and Pitt athletics, and a fascination with sports in general. 

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