Two days removed from a controversial holding penalty that loomed large in the Super Bowl, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown and Kansas City Chiefs counterpart JuJu Smith-Schuster got into it on Twitter after Smith-Schuster poked fun at the man charged with the infraction.
Valentine’s Day, a day generally preordained for feelings of love and affection, was the theme of Smith-Schuster’s original tweet after the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win — though it had a very snarky feel.
The tweet, in the form of a classic Valentine’s Day card, showed a picture of Eagles cornerback James Bradberry with the caption “I’ll hold you when it matters most.”
Bradberry was called for a hold near their end zone in the dying minutes of Sunday’s matchup, leading to a fresh set of downs for the Chiefs, who used it to kill most of the rest of the clock before hitting a game-winning field goal.
The call was polarizing amongst watchers, with many calling the penalty soft or going after the referees for deciding the game. Bradberry himself agreed with the call after the game, saying that he had hoped the refs would “let it ride.“
After Smith-Schuster sent out the greeting-card parody, Brown took issue.
Brown, rushing to the defence of his teammate , came at Smith-Schuster guns-blazing, calling the sixth-year wideout a “Tik-Tok boy,” a reference to his frequent posting and recognition on the social media app. He also alluded to the former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver’s career only being resurrected because of Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
He did, however, make sure to congratulate the opposing player for his win in the big game, sarcastically or not.
Smith-Schuster, not wanting to give up having the final word, made sure to add one more clap-back and threw in a ring emoji to punctuate the trash-talk.
For a bit of added fun, former Chiefs receiiver Tyreek Hill — now with the Miami Dolphinns — joined in on the party with a quote tweet of his own, saying that Smith-Schuster was “playing the victim.”