What did Devin Bush do? Why is Steelers LB's Twitter activity being monitored?
The Pittsburgh Steelers seem to have found themselves involved in yet another social media controversy.
First, it was Antonio Brown streaming Mike Tomlin's postgame speech on Facebook Live. Last season, wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool made waves with TikTok videos. This included Smith-Schuster dancing on opposing teams' midfield logos, which caused a huge backlash for Smith-Schuster, with opposing teams quick to respond to the disrespect.
Now, linebacker Devin Bush is the latest to make headlines with his Twitter rants.
Devin Bush's Twitter rants court trouble
Within the past week Devin Bush's Twitter activity has gone from casual content posting to apparent outrage, and there doesn't seem to be a root cause for the winds of change.
The 22-year-old linebacker first tweeted last week about how he wasn't a fan of TikTok and that he didn't want to be associated with other "grown men" who were actively using the app.
This immediately caused a stir on Twitter, considering the Steelers are known as a team whose players use the TikTok app as a way to build their brand. It also caught the attention of Arizona Cardinals defensive end J.J. Watt, brother of two current Steelers players, Derek and T.J. Watt.
After Chase Claypool commented "Yikes" on Devin Bush's post, Bush then posted another tweet claiming that it was taken out of context and that he wasn't referring to his own teammates.
The tweets continued throughout the weekend and, surprisingly, got worse. Bush posted a disturbing video of a cat falling for several stories. The viral video caused even more of a stir, with fans appalled that he had gone so far.
Fans believed that this would be the end of his Twitter rants and that the Steelers would get involved. Bush, though, returned to Twitter on Wednesday afternoon saying that fans had gotten him in trouble.
Minutes later he tweeted again saying that he was allowed to post just two tweets a day.
The apparent "2 tweets a day" limit didn't stop Bush as he posted nine times on Wednesday. Which, of course, led to another tweet.
While it's not known who is fining Bush for his tweets, there are two guesses: the NFL or the Pittsburgh Steelers. If Twitter was upset with the content Bush was posting, he would have been suspended or permanently banned from the social media platform.
The Steelers and/or the NFL could possibly fine Bush for his behavior and the Steelers could fine him for personal conduct issues. For now, there's little information on who's "watching" Bush's Twitter feed.
Bush was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers out of the University of Michigan in 2019. After a stellar rookie season, the Steelers were anticipating similar production from him in his second year.
Bush suffered a torn ACL in Week 6 of the 2020 season, which ending his campaign. He has since been rehabbing and preparing for a comeback in 2021.
It could be an interesting welcome back to Heinz Field at full capacity for Devin Bush if he plans to stick with blaming fans and the organization for his Twitter rants.
The Steelers are probably wishing their only social media conflict was dancing wide receivers.