Antonio Brown most Googled person in US in 2019

ALAMEDA, Calif. — After nearly a year full of drama, former Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown is Google’s most searched person in the U.S. for 2019.

Behind Brown, in order, were actor Jussie Smollett, who became embroiled in controversy after allegedly staging an attack on himself early in the year, YouTube personality James Charles, and celebrities Kevin Hart and R. Kelly.

In fact, Brown was the No. 5 searched item in general for Google in the U.S. in 2019, behind Disney Plus, Cameron Boyce, Nipsey Hussle and Hurricane Dorian. More people in America searched Antonio Brown than Luke Perry, “Avengers: Endgame,” “Game of Thrones” and the iPhone 11.

According to Google Trends, interest in Brown first spiked around the NFL combine in late February and early March, when trade rumors began to spring up. The Raiders acquired the mercurial wide receiver March 13.

Things were fairly dormant on the Brown search front until early August, when he was unable to practice because of frostbitten feet from a cryotherapy chamber.

While Brown has been out of the team’s picture since his release Sept. 7, coach Jon Gruden likely was alluding to Brown’s plight recently when discussing another player’s injury.

“We’ve had a lot of foot problems around here this year,” Gruden said, pausing after the sentence.

Brown’s search relevance dropped toward the end of August, but it spiked at the beginning of September, coinciding with a week full of controversy. Brown had a practice altercation with general manager Mike Mayock. He then issued an emotional apology, released a video with audio of a phone call with Gruden. And the next day, he demanded — and was granted — his release from the club with social media posts.

The news changed so frequently that week that reporters on his story went to bed on Thursday night following Brown’s video release thinking he’d play for the Raiders on “Monday Night Football” against the Broncos, particularly because a report surfaced that Gruden was amused by the video. The next morning, however, those same reporters woke up to the news that Brown had done something else.

Searches of Brown stayed at what Google calls “peak popularity” from Sept. 1-14. He didn’t fall back to more average levels until Oct. 6, well after the Patriots — he signed with New England on Sept. 9 — released him after just one game.

With the NFL reportedly continuing its investigation of Brown’s conduct, he has yet to sign with a team. But Brown continues to assert his relevance through his Twitter account — sometimes issuing statements he wants to return to the league, sometimes swearing it off, sometimes making apologies for unclear actions.

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Contact Myles Simmons at msimmons@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350. Follow @MylesASimmons on Twitter