Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni came out with an impassioned defense of star wide receiver A.J. Brown on Tuesday, pushing back against criticism over Brown’s habit of reading passages from a book during games on the sideline.
“Some guys pray in between, some guys mediate in between. A.J. reads in between,” Sirianni said during a radio appearance. “Whatever these guys need to do to put their mind in a place where they can play with great detail and great effort, I fully encourage them to do that.”
Brown Stirs Conversation with Sideline Reading
The topic flared up after Brown, known as one of the NFL’s premier receivers, was spotted reading from the book Inner Excellence by Jim Murphy during the Eagles’ wild-card playoff win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. Brown had only one catch on three targets in the game, leading some to speculate he was acting out of frustration.
But Sirianni slammed that narrative as “lazy,” saying critics jumped to conclusions without doing the “proper research” on Brown’s motivations. “A.J. Brown is a great, great, great person,” Sirianni emphasized. “The man A.J. Brown is the best receiver — and I’ll say it without hesitation — the best receiver that this city has ever seen.”
Reading Brings Brown “Sense of Peace”
For his part, Brown explained that he brings Inner Excellence to every game and reads select passages because they help bring him a “sense of peace.” He strongly denied reading out of any frustration with his performance or role.
“I wasn’t frustrated at all. I figured that’s what y’all probably thought,” Brown said. “Why do you always think I be frustrated? Dang. I like to read.”
The star wideout elaborated further on social media, writing that he uses the book “to refocus and lock in despite what may transpire in the game good or bad. People tend to create controversy when they don’t know the truth.”
Book Sales Soar After Brown Spotlight
While the practice may be unorthodox, it’s hard to argue with the results – Brown posted career highs in receptions, yards and touchdowns this season as the Eagles captured the NFC’s top seed. And Amazon certainly isn’t complaining. Inner Excellence shot up to the number one spot on the site’s trending list after previously ranking 523,497th in sales.
At the end of the day, Sirianni’s message was simple – he supports his players doing whatever it takes to achieve their “inner excellence” on the field, even if that means cracking open a book between drives. As the Eagles continue their Super Bowl pursuit, don’t be surprised to see Brown sneaking in a few more pages on the sideline.
