Dance No More: Steelers' JuJu Smith-Schuster Says Midfield Logo Dances Are Over
PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster has shut down his pregame TikTok dances on opposing teams' logos.
Smith-Schuster, whose dances have caused controversy over the last two weeks in Buffalo and Cincinnati, said he no longer wants to be a distraction to his team or opponents and will end his dances on midfield logos.
"I was dancing when we were undefeated. I was dancing when we lost our three games. I'm not going to change the person who I am," Smith-Schuster said Wednesday. "It's getting to the point where my teammates are being asked this question. My coach is being asked this question ... For the betterment of myself and my teammates, I'm going to stop dancing on the logos."
Head coach Mike Tomlin said on Tuesday that he planned to talk to Smith-Schuster about the dancing following growing headlines around the situation.
Smith-Schuster said he started dancing to give more content to his fans. "I saw it more in terms of my fans. I'm big on social media," he said. "Doing stuff like that, you get the positives and negatives."
The Steelers wide receiver confirmed he was not being paid by the social media platform TikTok to dance on opposing teams' midfield logos.
Momentum has grown surrounding Smith-Schuster's dancing as the Steelers continue to lose. After their game with the Bengals, Cincinnati safety Vonn Bell, who forced a fumble on Smith-Schuster, said he was motivated by the dancing.
When asked what he saw when he made the hit on Smith-Schuster, Bell responded, "I seen nineteen," referring to an opportunity to lay a big hit on the Steelers wideout.
The dancing is now over, though. Smith-Schuster confirmed he will no longer be creating videos during game day and instead will work on his social media platform "in house." Ending the viral sensation that was the Steelers' TikTok controversy.
"When I heard that [Tomlin] was getting asked these questions. When I heard that my teammates were getting asked these questions, I felt like I didn't want to be a distraction. What I can do better is what I can do for my offense. Put points on the board."
Noah Strackbein is a Publisher with AllSteelers. Follow Noah on Twitter @NoahStrack, and AllSteelers @si_steelers.