The days of scoring a touchdown and handing the ball back to the referee are over. In the modern NFL, players celebrate with wild dances and choreographed rituals. Paparazzi used to be the only people taking video and pictures of NFL players throughout an offseason. Now, players post videos on social media all day, every day.
This is the world we live in, like it or not, and it extends to the NFL. It's the new norm.
Some players take it too far like when Bud Dupree called Mark Kaboly "fat boy." Antonio Brown has been disparaging on Twitter. Le'Veon Bell recently posted a rant on Instagram.
There have always been players who act like professionals, and players who haven't. JuJu Smith-Schuster is a modern day professional.
He posts just about everything he does on social media--so what? So does every other 22-year-old. JuJu, unlike his predecessor Antonio Brown, chooses to use his reach for good not evil. Antonio Brown's social media videos have always shown him working out or what he's eating that day. JuJu has volunteered at nursing homes, paid visit to Children's Hospital, gone trick-or-treating in a local neighborhood, and even held a huge water balloon fight for kids in the area.
Antonio Brown has driven 100 MPH on McKnight Road, allegedly thrown furniture off of a balcony that could have severely injured a toddler, and knocked down the mother of one of his children over a dispute about a haircut.
JuJu Smith-Schuster hasn't once even been accused of wrongdoing off of the football field. On the field, he's been one of the most productive receivers in football. At 22-years-old, JuJu would have been one of the youngest players in this years NFL draft. He was the youngest player in the league as a rookie. His maturity at that age is staggering.
I'm not sure if Smith-Schuster runs all of his own social media or if he's hired an expert. Either way, it's a good reflection on him. He lives his entire life on the internet and hasn't stepped in any crap.
To the untrained (old person) eye, it may seem as if JuJu isn't taking what he does seriously. That couldn't be further from the truth. Times are changing and so are the ways in which athletes express themselves.
JuJu has shown the ability to be an individual and also do what's best for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He's a modern day professional.