‘I like to read’: AJ Brown tucks into book midgame during Eagles’ playoff win

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AJ Brown looks on after talking with his son before Sunday’s game. Photograph: Chris Szagola/AP

AJ Brown has many strings to his bow: sure-handed wide receiver, backing singer and would be professional baseball player. On Sunday, he added another facet: the NFL’s most committed reader.

The Eagles wide receiver was caught by TV cameras casually flicking through a book on the sidelines during his team’s playoff victory over the Green Bay Packers.

Brown, who was named to the NFL’s All-Pro team for the third team this season, had only one catch on Sunday but denied he started reading because he had tuned out of the game.

“I wasn’t frustrated at all. I figured that’s what y’all probably thought,” Brown said after the game. “Why do you always think I be frustrated? Dang. I like to read.”

The book in question was Inner Excellence by Jim Murphy, which promises to “train your mind for extraordinary performance and the best possible life”. Brown isn’t the only athlete who is a fan: the book’s Amazon page also has recommendations from Olympic golf champion Nelly Korda and PGA Championship winner Jason Duffner.

Brown later added on social media that he brings the book to every game and reading aids his performance. “I use it to refocus and lock in despite what may transpire in the game good or bad,” he wrote. “People tend to create controversy when they don’t know the truth.”

Brown said he was carrying an injury coming into the game, while his quarterback, Jalen Hurts, was coming back from a spell on the sidelines after suffering a concussion.

“I’ve never seen him read [on the sideline]; I’ve seen the book in his hands,” Hurts said. “Everybody has a different thing and finds their flow in different ways. That’s how he chooses to do it.”

Inner Excellence’s free advert on US network television didn’t appear to have immediately boosted sales. On Sunday night, it was listed as No 573,835 on Amazon’s book sales charts.

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