Steelers’ wide receiver Antonio Brown
received another honor on Tuesday when he received Variety’s Male Sports Personality of the Year at their First Annual Sports Entertainment Breakfast.
The award, which Brown became the first-ever recipient of, highlights what athletes must do to be “The New All-Star Athlete.” While the award is about on-field accomplishments, it encompasses a whole lot more, including social media followings to reality show competitions, and making the transition to other television mediums while still playing.
Social media is a big part of Brown’s off-field persona and with over 387,000 followers on Twitter he is an athlete who isn’t afraid to interact with his fans or share an inside look at his life and likes.
Sports Personalities of the Year @AntonioBrown84, @TheRealLailaAli with panelist and Hall of Famer @WillieMcGinest pic.twitter.com/2P9tKiqeNM
— Janine Lew (@varietyjl) July 14, 2015
Brown makes his acting debut on HBO’s new television series “Ballers,” a show about life in professional football.
And when it comes to the football field, his accomplishments are well known. Brown was ranked No. 8 on NFL Network’s “Top 100 Players of 2015,” was selected to his third Pro Bowl last year, recorded at least one reception in 72 straight games in which he played, and set a single season team record with 129 receptions and 1,698 receiving yards in 2014 while leading the NFL in receiving.
Brown, who won the Dapper Dan Sportsman of the Year Award, was also a 2014 All-NFL and All-AFC Selection by the Pro Football Writers of America. Brown was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Month for December and the Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in Week 17 against Cincinnati.
Boxing champion Laila Ali received the Female Sports Personality of the Year.
