Team drama upsetting for Albany Empire fans

Loyal Albany Empire fans tell NewsChannel 13 they’re losing trust in the team’s leadership.

Fans are sick of the drama. This is a team that’s won multiple championships in recent years, and fans say they’ve fallen so far from that.

Among them is Stephanie Carter and Ben Nelson.

Carter is a mom who says the game has allowed her two kids – who are 10 years apart in age – to connect.

The players even signed a football for one of her sons when he was in the hospital. When she saw them win a championship, she said it was like being at the Super Bowl.

Meantime, superfan Ben Nelson runs the Albany Empire Nation’ Facebook Page. It led to a job with the team several years ago.

There’s a lot of pride in arena football in Albany, he said. However, he recently left his job with the Empire.
He woke up Tuesday morning to a now-deleted tweet from Antonio Brown, hurling slurs at him, apparently mistaking him for another fan.

Nelson thinks leadership has lost the trust of the fans, he said, and he’s not sure they’ll be showing up to support them for the rest of the season.

The players are very visible in the community because Albany’s size allows them to connect with the fans, said Nelson. However, things have changed so quickly, and they’ve lost many of those trusted players.

Hear both Nelson and Carter as they both talk about why they say it’s sad to see what’s happening by watching the video of Stella Porter’s story.