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Steelers’ JuJu Smith-Schuster vows to keep ‘being myself,’ doing pregame logo dances | TribLIVE.com
Steelers/NFL

Steelers’ JuJu Smith-Schuster vows to keep ‘being myself,’ doing pregame logo dances

Chris Adamski
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Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review
Pittsburgh Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster celebrates with the fans after a touchdown last season. Smith-Schuster has been videoing a dance on the midfield logo prior to games this season, and many Buffalo Bills players were upset he did so Sunday. Smith-Schuster, though, said he’s not going to stop being himself.

Several Buffalo Bills players said it upset and inspired them en route to a victory Sunday. But Pittsburgh Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster has no plans to stop his new routine of a pregame dance on the midfield logo.

“Yes, we lost, (and) they had a few words to say and it is what is,” Smith-Schuster said Wednesday, “(but) I’m not going to stop doing it.”

“It” is uploading to his TikTok account a dance recorded during pregame stretches. Smith-Schuster said he has done it throughout this season — even during home games — but after Sunday night’s 26-15 loss, multiple Bills players said they took note of Smith-Schuster’s playful pregame moves in their stadium and on their logo.

“I ain’t going to lie, seeing them dancing on our logo pregame and seeing all that, that turns you up a little bit,” Bills cornerback Jordan Poyer told reporters. “It kind of gives you a little second itch to come out and play with some extra fire.”

Also, a video circulated of Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen giving a pregame speech to teammates in which he said, “Let them do all the… talking… on the field.”

It was reminiscent of five weeks earlier in Dallas, when Cowboys defensive tackle Antwaun Woods said he noticed Smith-Schuster’s pregame moves and further ensured he prevented Smith-Schuster from running back to the midfield logo to celebrate a touchdown.

“We have zero-tolerance for that,” Woods said then.

The Cowboys, unlike the Bills, lost to the Steelers.

Smith-Schuster brushed off criticism his dances provide “bulletin-board material.”

“One thing I’ll tell you guys. I’m not going to stop being myself,” Smith-Schuster said during a video conference call with media. “I’m going to be the JuJu I came into me. Authentic. TikTok is a new platform that I’ve used to touch my fans.

“I plan to keep on doing (the dances). I’m just having fun, being myself.”

No Steelers teammates or coaches have publicly expressed frustrations with Smith-Schuster’s on-field social-media antics.

“That is who he is. He’s been that way (in college) at USC,” fellow Steelers receiver James Washington said. “He’s always been that type of guy. (But) when he’s in a game, I feel like his play speaks for himself. As long as he’s having fun, it is what it is.”

Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.

Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.

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Categories: Sports | Steelers/NFL
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