Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster tried to maintain a good relationship with former teammate Antonio Brown, but the new Oakland Raider’s latest public quote is apparently a bridge too far.
On Sunday, Brown took a shot at Smith-Schuster on Twitter, saying his former teammate fumbled the postseason away.
Emotion: boy fumbled the whole post season in the biggest game of year ! Everyone went blind to busy making guys famous not enough reality these days ! by the way check the list https://t.co/2SWWT8k0jx
— Antonio Brown (@AB84) April 7, 2019
Brown is referring to Smith-Schuster’s crushing fumble late in a 31-28 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 16. The fumble cost the Steelers a shot at a potential game-tying field goal, and the loss ultimately eliminated them from playoff contention.
Smith-Schuster, who had largely avoided being critical of Brown amid his trade saga, had had enough after the latest barb.
Keep your emotions off the internet
— JuJu Smith-Schuster (@TeamJuJu) April 7, 2019
All I ever did was show that man love and respect from the moment I got to the league. I was genuinely happy for him too when he got traded to Oakland w/ a big contract, and now he takes shots at me on social media?
— JuJu Smith-Schuster (@TeamJuJu) April 7, 2019
Crazy how big that ego got to be to take shots at people who show you love! Smh
— JuJu Smith-Schuster (@TeamJuJu) April 7, 2019
Smh pic.twitter.com/jkmA3oWWRS
— JuJu Smith-Schuster (@TeamJuJu) April 7, 2019
In other words, the friendship is over. And while some would certainly argue that Smith-Schuster hasn’t been quite as innocent as he claims to be in terms of talking about Brown publicly, he’s been pretty quiet about it overall, and it’s clear that he previously had a lot of respect for Brown as a teammate. Brown’s decision to blast him publicly without any provocation seems like a completely unnecessary and petty move.
At the end of the day, even on a different team, Brown can’t stop causing Steelers-related drama. It’s why they got rid of him, and despite his unquestioned talent, they might end up being better off for it in the long term.
