Mark Madden: Back to being a distraction, JuJu Smith-Schuster shows who he really is — an immature punk

After wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster left Pittsburgh and signed with Kansas City during the 2022 offseason, he went relatively quietly.

Smith-Schuster minimized his addiction to social media and self-promotion, chipping only occasionally.

Did Smith-Schuster stop dancing on opposition logos, climbing milk crates, going to high school proms and starring on TikTok nonstop because Chiefs coach Andy Reid told him to quit being his own worst distraction?

There’s no knowing that for sure. But it’s certainly the way to bet.

The Chiefs won the Super Bowl this past Sunday. Smith-Schuster figured into the game-deciding moment when he got held by Philadelphia cornerback James Bradberry.

Smith-Schuster got back on social media with a vengeance, pimping products, celebrating and generally morphing into what he’d been with the Steelers.

Which is to say, a petulant jerk — not least when he tweeted a Valentine featuring a photo of Bradberry that’s captioned, “I’ll hold you when it matters most.”

Viciously funny, but low-rent and childish.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody ❤️ pic.twitter.com/skXuZVgrYR

— JuJu Smith-Schuster (@TeamJuJu) February 14, 2023

Smith-Schuster won the game, had his moment, will get a ring and got a $1 million bonus because he played 50% of the Chiefs’ offensive snaps in the Super Bowl.

Yet Smith-Schuster still saw fit to kick Bradberry when he’s down.

This after Bradberry handled his faux pas with class and character, admitting he’d fouled Smith-Schuster instead of complaining about the call.

Which Bradberry could have done. It was tight.

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Eagles receiver A.J. Brown fired back at Smith-Schuster. “This is lame,” Brown tweeted. “You was on the way out the league before (Patrick) Mahomes resurrected your career on your one-year deal, TikTok boy.”

No lies detected. “TikTok boy” was soon trending on Twitter.

A few others chimed in, but none better than Brown. Ex-Chiefs wideout Tyreek Hill curiously called Smith-Schuster a “front-runner.”

Steelers fans, predictably and lamely, saluted Smith-Schuster’s Super Bowl win.

Maybe Pittsburgh could host a celebration for Smith-Schuster like Boston stupidly did for Ray Bourque after the ex-Bruin won the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2001.

You want to fete Smith-Schuster, go ahead. But he helped Kansas City win a Super Bowl, not Pittsburgh.

With the Steelers, Smith-Schuster fumbled away playoff berths in 2018 and 2019. His butterfingers directly lost games vs. New Orleans the former year and against Baltimore the latter.

The Steelers missed the postseason by one game each season. Do the math.

In 2020, Smith-Schuster danced on the Bengals’ logo before the Steelers’ game at Cincinnati.

During that game, Cincinnati safety Vonn Bell crushed Smith-Schuster after a catch, forcing a fumble and turnover that led to the Bengals getting a 10-0 lead and, ultimately, a 27-17 upset victory.

That was the Steelers’ third straight loss after an 11-0 start. Their collapse ended with a first-round playoff loss to Cleveland at Heinz Field. “TikTok boy” strikes again.

In Pittsburgh, Smith-Schuster was a social media phenom. But on the field, he was mostly all hat and no cattle.

Smith-Schuster cried when he erred. He apologized.

Smith-Schuster played victim when ex-teammate Antonio Brown correctly pointed out that “boy fumbled the postseason in the biggest game of the year” following Smith-Schuster’s goof against New Orleans in ’18.

But now, Smith-Schuster follows in Antonio Brown’s footsteps to denigrate and taunt somebody who made a mistake.

Smith-Schuster really is AB Jr. (Except for the talent and stats.)

Smith-Schuster is a phony. A different, worse person when there aren’t cameras around.

But phonies inevitably let their guard down and show who they really are.

The taunt of Bradberry is who Smith-Schuster really is. He’s an immature punk.

Sure, Smith-Schuster will get a Super Bowl ring. They give the ball boy a ring, too.

Sure, Smith-Schuster made a few catches this past Sunday. But mostly, “TikTok boy” flew high on borrowed wings. Brown got it exactly right.