Was JuJu Smith-Schuster out of line with his Twitter Valentine?

There wasn’t much love to be found on Twitter on Valentine’s Day as the Chiefs’ JuJu Smith-Schuster ignited a social media firestorm with his troll job on the Eagles’ James Bradberry.

The crew from The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz weighed in as the two Super Bowl combatants took their competition off the field and onto social media feeds.

Dan points out that a lot of people found JuJu’s gag, funny but a lot of people did not, especially Bradberry’s teammate AJ Brown.

Jessica notes that while a lot of people are calling “Tik Tok boy” an insult, she disagrees as she loves Tik Tok and likes guys, so she doesn’t think it’s that big of an insult. Dan notes that it was intended as an insult and Jessica points out that JuJu was one of the league’s first very active players on that social media platform. Chris Cote says it’s almost like word association — if you say football player that does a lot of Tik Tok JuJu’s name is the first that comes to mind.

Jessica notes that JuJu likes doing Tik Tok dances and people used to criticize him when he was on the Steelers for doing Tik Tok dances before games, calling it a distraction. She did note that she thought the criticism was goofy because that’s just what the younger generation does on their phones.

Chris also points out that Tik Tok is in a weird space where the people that do it think it is cool and the people that don’t use it as an insult. Witty notes that the insult seems like an out-of-date insult that just makes Brown seem old, while Chris points out that calling someone “Facebook Guy” would be more damning.

Dan points out that former Eagle LeGarrette Blount entered the chat, pointing out JuJu’s middling stats over the past six games and asking who held him then and don’t be a d***head. Of course, Dan is guessing that LeGarrette game logged Smith-Schuster and made sure to pick a number of games that put JuJu in a bad light. Of course, Witty goes back and discovers that JuJu put up 10 catches for 88 yards against Houston seven games ago and nine catches for 74 yards and a touchdown in the game before that, making it a convenient crop on LeGarrette’s part. Jessica points out that she loves stats for this very reason, as you can use them to make an argument.

Dan does wonder, however, where the majority of people side in this Twitter beef? He notes that it is rare for guys to go back and forth this publicly immediately after the championship and he says a lot of people interested in laughing but then a whole lot of people defending someone from the laughter. Dan also points out that JuJu has talked about a fumble against the Saints costing his team a game has haunted him and thus Dan thinks he should know better than to drag someone like this. Dan thinks you have to choose a side here: feel for Bradberry or mock him and you’re not used to an athlete doing it because they should know better from having been there before.

Witty says in the past you would have seen this happen at a parade after a few drinks and that seems to be an acceptable form of this taunting. But for whatever reason, when it spills out onto social media people have a different reaction. Witty also says he doesn’t think most people were going at Bradberry for the holding penalty, but rather were discussing the merits of making the call in the first place.

Stugotz highlights the fact that Bradberry admitted to the hold, and when paired with the fact that the Chiefs won the game, he asks did JuJu really need to rub it in more? Thus, Stugotz sides with the Eagles.

Also, who was the bigger baller — Chris Cote or 10 Day Tony?

SHOW BREAKDOWN

Local Hour: Here’s To The Dads

• We start the show by going back to a couple of topics we didn’t spend nearly enough time on yesterday: hurling objects at the grocery store and the potential fury of Ed Kelce. Then, Derek Carr may prevent Aaron Rodgers from being a Jet, JuJu Smith-Schuster gets called “TikTok boy,” and we discuss the end of the sports scapegoat.

The Big Suey: John Skipper & David Samson

• John Skipper and David Samson join Witty for another sports business hour post-Super Bowl! They cover Super Bowl TV viewership, the potential of a pay-per-view Super Bowl, the money in streaming, length of sports television deals, owners operating for “the now,” Forbes valuations of teams, Tom Brady’s future in the broadcast booth, Disney and ESPN’s future, and more.

Hour 1: Gun Violence In America

• John Woodrow Cox of the Washington Post joins the show to discuss his reporting on gun violence in America. He discusses the latest shooting at Michigan State, why our laws don’t evolve much, money in the gun lobby, and why we need to start looking more holistically at who the victims of gun violence are. Then, Stugotz refuses to call the Chiefs a dynasty, Tony’s Top 19 Quarterbacks, Roy’s Top 5 sports goats, and the future of Kyler Murray.

Hour 2: The Stugotz Calm App

• Mike Schur joins the show to share his Stat of the Day and scream the names of utility infielders into the void. Chris Cote is stressed about his style for NBA All-Star Weekend. Did Elon Musk buy himself a replacement for high school popularity with Twitter? And with Aaron Rodgers heading into darkness, it’s time to meditate with Stugotz.

Postgame Show: Volcanoes Are Having A Moment

• Volcanoes are having a moment, Stugotz doesn’t know his New York Knicks, and Dan thinks John Jaso was a power hitter.

Watch more below!

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