American football star John Sherman “JuJu” Smith-Schuster, wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, proudly acknowledged his Samoan heritage and culture today in a heartfelt Instagram post to his 2.9m followers.
The post comes after the Steelers’ game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, in which Juju turned up wearing Samoan attire including ie faitaga and ‘ulafala. For many Samoans the significance of the all-white outfit was immediate – worn on Samoa’s White Sunday, “a day to celebrate childhood and the children in the community”.
Juju, who was born in California and is of African American and Samoan descent, explained the significance of his outfit further: “I grew up in a big Samoan family, and this culture is a huge part of my life. Coming back to LA, it was special for me to represent my heritage in the city I grew up in with hundreds of my family and friends in the stands.”
To cap off the celebration, the Steelers won in a 24-17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers that Sunday night. Read the full post below:
