Pittsburgh Steelers Wide Receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster drew criticism on Twitter Tuesday after a video surfaced of him attempting the viral “milk crate challenge” one week before the start of the NFL season.
The video, posted to Twitter on Aug. 30, shows Smith-Schuster finishing the viral TikTok challenge, in which participants attempt to climb a stair made of stacked milk crates. The trend went viral on TikTok as well as on Twitter. TikTok has since removed videos containing the hashtag #milkcratechallenge because of numerous videos of individuals falling in awkward positions onto pavement, other crates or other hard surfaces.
What in the hell is JuJu thinking?? C’mon, man. pic.twitter.com/42emMCQmVA
— Chris Mack (@THEChrisMack) August 30, 2021
The video was criticized by fans and media.
“He is a grown man making millions of dollars a year,” said Fox Sports Analyst Chris Broussard. “[Smith-Schuster] needs to stop doing this stuff. Just play football!”
“Let’s stop calling him JuJu, he is a grown man making millions of dollars a year. I am going to start calling him John. … John needs to stop doing this stuff and just play football.”
— @Chris_Broussard on JuJu attempting the Milk Crate Challenge 🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/NJ3hEUvHcn
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) August 31, 2021
Smith-Schuster made headlines during the 2020 season after posting Tiktok videos of himself dancing on opposing team’s midfield logos at away games. His videos backfired when Cincinnati Bengals safety Vonn Bell delivered a punishing hit on Smith-Schuster after he danced on the Bengals logo before an away game.
This is incredibly reckless, and the criticism is more than warranted. I know that JuJu is a wide receiver in the NFL, and balance is kind of in his job description, but those videos are brutal. He could have been seriously hurt. It’s time for Smith-Schuster to grow up and start taking his safety, and his job, seriously.