Philadelphia Eagles defensive back Darius Slay has hit out at Kansas City Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster as he continued to goad his Super Bowl rivals in Arizona.
Last month, the Chiefs secured a dramatic 38-35 win over the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII, which will go down as an all-time classic. Kansas City star quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for 182 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Chiefs to a sensational win, which was secured by a late field goal from kicker Harrison Butker with just eight seconds remaining.
However, there’s been plenty of discussion around the circumstances that led to a controversial late flag on Eagles cornerback James Bradberry after he clashed with Smith-Schuster. Late in the fourth quarter with the Super Bowl tied at 35-35, Bradberry was called for a holding penalty after he was seen just grabbing the back of Smith-Schuster's jersey - and the penalty ultimately allowed the Chiefs up to run the rest of the clock out before kicking the title-clinching field goal.
The controversial call was heavily scrutinised by fans and personalities alike, although Bradberry himself - as well as a number of Eagles players - admitted it was a fair decision. Regardless, Smith-Schuster has shown his immature side by continuing to poke at Bradberry and the Eagles defensive personnel in a skit he posted on social media.
The posts have infuriated Eagles players. Philadelphia star receiver AJ Brown referred to Smith-Schuster as ‘TikTok boy’ as the Chiefs wideout has been criticised in the past for doing TikTok dances on the logo of opposing teams while opponents have claimed to have used his behaviour as motivation when facing his team.
However, Slay has now set his sights on Smith-Schuster after the skit. On his Volume podcast, Slay said: “Come on JuJu. Y’all trolling and it rubbed me the wrong way. Since y’all wanna be out here clowning and stuff on All-Pro JB (James Bradberry) - one of the best in the game - he did what he did, of course he got a holding call. I honestly hold every play. Just like y’all offensive guys push off every play.
“Now let’s be honest, Mahomes a dog out there and him and Travis [Kelce] had a crazy connection. Other than that, it was lights camera action out there for us. We were having a field day. We were having a great, great game - we just had a hard time with Kelce. We did feel our [defensive backs] were way better, and that’s what happened on the field. I think they threw for like 180 yards? We were the number one pass defence for a reason.
“To come out like that, talking crazy? You need to fix that. That ain’t called for man, y’all be taking it to a whole new level right now. Y’all new generation are a little weird.
“What JuJu need to be doing is really just be worrying about his little TikTok dances and keep it going - and stop trying to play like that man. You better play like that on TikTok. Stop playing with my dog.”
Ultimately, Super Bowl LVII referee Carl Cheffers told pool reporters it was a ‘clear’ call against Bradberry while the Eagles corner held himself accountable and admitted it was the correct decision, despite the uproar of others online. He said: “It was a holding. I tugged his jersey. I was hoping they would let it slide.”
