Anesthesia is a hell of drug
Titans receiver A.J. Brown had a Pro Bowl–caliber season despite being hampered by two bad knees that required surgery as soon as the season was over. How do we know? Because Brown went live on Instagram from his hospital bed after the operation.
Brown had surgery on both knees Tuesday, and as he was still coming out of anesthesia decided to open up his phone and start talking to fans. In a clip from the broadcast that circulated on Twitter, Brown can be seen in his hospital gown with a heart rate monitor still on his finger telling viewers, “I’m going to be the best receiver in the NFL.”
Later in the video, after a nurse came by to give him a Coke, he revealed that the injuries had bothered him all season long.
“I was sore all year,” Brown said. “Nobody knew. They told me I was done for the year in like Week 2. I played all year. I ended up making the Pro Bowl. Didn’t know how I was going to do it. I did it.”
(Brown injured the left knee in training camp and the right one in the season opener against the Jaguars, according to ESPN’s Turron Davenport. He missed two games and was limited in practice all season long.)
The nurse also asked Brown who had accompanied him to drive him home. When Brown said it was his dad and the nurse asked if Brown wanted him to come into the recovery room, Brown said no because “he’s going to record me.” That’s smart. Clearly Brown didn’t want to have video evidence of the effects of the anesthesia, and didn’t totally realize that he was broadcasting himself.
Brown was certainly still feeling a little bit of the drugs he was given, and his teammates noticed.
“Boy let me get some of whatever that is that you on,” defensive end Jeffery Simmons wrote in the comments.
“Boy what you on?” receiver Rashard Davis wrote.
Shortly after the broadcast, somebody tweeted from Brown’s account apologizing for letting him stream while “not in his right mind.”
On Wednesday, Brown sent an apology, saying he was “embarrassed” by what happened. He also, unfortunately, blamed the nurse for not taking his phone away.
It’s understandable that Brown, having regained his senses, regrets documenting himself looking silly. But aside from his loopy demeanor, there’s nothing for Brown to be seriously embarrassed about. Of course he wants to be the best receiver in the NFL. What Pro Bowler doesn’t think they’re capable of making that leap? And if he was able to put up 1,075 yards on 70 catches in just 14 games as a second-year player while playing with two bad legs, who’s to say he can’t join the game’s elite? He just needs to stay out of the operating room—for a couple of reasons.
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