JuJu Smith-Schuster: Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver joins fan at high school prom
- Published
JuJu Smith-Schuster, fourth from left, and Anthony Molinaro in their matching prom suits
What do you do when your prom is just round the corner and your date has just bailed on you?
After American high school student Anthony Molinaro was left in that exact situation, he slid into Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster's DMs on Instagram in the hope that he would join him.
And guess what? He did.
Smith-Schuster, 22, arrived at Chartiers Valley High School's senior prom in a limousine alongside Molinaro and his friends.
Smith-Schuster in a limo on his way to the prom
The pair even co-ordinated their outfits - wearing matching blue velvet suits - and sent the crowd into a frenzy when they appeared on stage and 'made it rain' by throwing dollar bills into the air.
JuJu Smith-Schuster and Anthony Molinaro throwing money in the air
Later on, the prom attendees came together to sing a derogatory chant about Smith-Schuster's former Steelers team-mate Antonio Brown.
Brown, one of the NFL's elite receivers, had made some less-than-kind statements on social media about his former understudy after securing a big-money trade away from Pittsburgh to the Oakland Raiders.
Brown was the number one receiver in Pittsburgh, but fell out with coaches and team-mates as he looked to force a move away.
When Smith-Schuster was voted the Steelers' Player of the Year, 'AB' was unhappy to be overlooked, and highlighted Smith-Schuster's costly week-16 fumble in New Orleans that had effectively ended Pittsburgh's play-off hopes.
Whether JuJu participated in the anti-AB song is unclear, but he is set to post a vlog of his night at the prom on his YouTube channel soon, so we'll see if that makes the cut.
He is not the first sports star to make a surprise prom appearance.
Former Miami Heat guard Dwayne Wade shocked a fan at her prom after she posted a YouTube video, external looking for a date.
Dwayne Wade retired at the end of the 2018-19 season
Former UFC champion Ronda Rousey also went to prom with a fan after she accepted a Facebook invitation from Marine Lance Corporal Jarrod Haschert in 2015.
Ronda Rousey went to the prom a month after her shock loss to Holly Holm
So despite it not being unique, 'the night I took JuJu Smith-Schuster to prom' will be quite some story for Anthony Molinaro to tell.