Getty Kansas City Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Kansas City Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster posted a Valentine’s Day card on social media that poked fun at Philadelphia Eagles cornerback James Bradberry — the Eagles defender that had the controversial holding penalty during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LVII.
“I’ll hold you the most when it matters,” the digital Valentine’s Day card reads. The card also has a picture of Bradberry on it.
Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody ❤️
Eagles players caught wind of JuJu’s jab rather quickly and took aim at the pending free agent.
“First off congratulations. Y’all deserve it,” Philadelphia receiver A.J. Brown wrote. “This is lame. You was on the way out the league before mahomes resurrected your career on your 1 year deal Tik-Tok boy. He admitted that he grabbed you but don’t act like you’re like that or ever was. But congratulations again!”
“Come on naw bra… doin too much!!” Eagles cornerback Darius Slay wrote.
Bradberry took to Twitter after his teammates to remind everyone of his accolades from this season.
“ALL-PRO #APJB,” the second-team All-Pro cornerback wrote.
JuJu responded to Brown’s tweet by writing, “Glad you were finally able to get all that off your chest after all these years. Good game bro.”
Glad you were finally able to get all that off your chest after all these years. Good game bro 👍🏾💍
Other Twitter Users React to JuJu’s Post
Other Twitter users also reacted to JuJu Smith-Schuster’s viral jab at James Bradberry.
“Dudes biggest play of the season was drawing the worst flag in Super Bowl history… Pretty solid year,” Josh Reynolds of SB Nation wrote. “Happy Valentines Day to you as well, JuJu!”
@TeamJuJu Dudes biggest play of the season was drawing the worst flag in Super Bowl history… Pretty solid year. Happy Valentines Day to you as well, JuJu!
“Hey juju, just wanted to say from now on I’m going to spend every night praying you are never successful at anything else in life, and when you retire your career is forgotten about and you are as a player as well,” another user wrote. “Hopefully you read this. God bless.”
“Him owning up to it was big and tapered down (still plenty but would have been more) a lot of the talk there would have been otherwise. This is a bad look,” another user wrote.
@TeamJuJu Him owning up to it was big and tapered down (still plenty but would have been more) a lot of the talk there would have been otherwise. This is a bad look
Bradberry Owns Up to Holding JuJu
The controversial play involving JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Bradberry during the Super Bowl was on Kansas City’s final offensive drive of the game.
On a 3rd-and-8 play from Philadelphia’s 15 yard line, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw an incomplete pass in the end zone intended for JuJu. Yet, a flag was thrown for holding on Bradberry prior to the pass being thrown, which set the Chiefs up with a fresh set of downs with under two minutes to play in the game.
Referee Carl Cheffers says he called holding on James Bradberry because of first part with James’s right hand
“The receiver went to the inside and he was attempting to release to the outside. The defender grabbed the jersey with his right hand”
After the game, Bradberry admitted to holding JuJu on that crucial third-down penalty.
“It was a holding. I tugged his jersey. I was hoping they would let it slide,” Bradberry said during his postgame press conference.
Head Super Bowl referee Carl Cheffers defended the call after the game.
“The receiver went to the inside, and he was attempting to release to the outside,” Cheffers said in a pool report. “The defender grabbed the jersey with his right hand and restricted him from releasing to the outside. So, therefore, we called defensive holding.”
Though it was a clear hold by Bradberry on the play, the fact that the referees played a large part in the outcome of the game is what had fans up in arms during the Super Bowl.
It’s been a brutal year for officiating and the Super Bowl continues that trend. Getting the biggest, most important calls wrong.