Former NFL Stars, Public Figures Take To Twitter About Controversial Super Bowl Call

Super Bowl LVII saw the Kansas City Chiefs come out on top with a 38-35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, but many personalities see the game-deciding holding penalty as a controversial call.

With under two minutes to play and the score tied at 35 apiece, Eagles cornerback James Bradberry IV was flagged for holding on to Chiefs receiver Juju Smith-Schuster as the former sought to slow down the latter from what could have been a walk-off touchdown.

Former NFL tight end and Fox Sports commentator Greg Olsen noted during the broadcast that it was the worst possible outcome for the Eagles at that point since the Chiefs were already on third down and eight yards away from the endzone.

"They're gonna say he grabs him (Smith-Schuster), he's got his left hand on his back, I don't know. Listen, I think on this stage, I think you let them play. Obviously, [Patrick] Mahomes thought he saw it. I think you let them play, finish this thing out. I don't love that call," Olsen said as replays were being shown on the broadcast.

Former NFL cornerback and Super Bowl champion Richard Sherman was quick to air his grievances out on Twitter, lamenting the referees' decision to call holding while regretting his decision to compliment them earlier.

Julian Edelman, former New England Patriots wide receiver and three-time Super Bowl champion, echoed fan sentiments, stating that the "[referees] absolutely cannot make that call" at such a crucial juncture.

College football analyst and all-time running back great Reggie Bush also had his two cents on the matter.

The NBA's new all-time leading scorer and Los Angeles Lakers star in LeBron James was also watching live at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona also took to social media to make his displeasure public while offering his own analysis on the controversial call.

Sports Emmy-nominated sportscaster Kirk Hebstreit echoed Sherman and Olsen's comments, tweeting that the players should be given the freedom to play things out in such a high-stakes game of football while adding that Bradberry's form of holding was "marginal".

Former US Navy SEAL and member of the SEAL Team Six that figured in May 2011's Operation Neptune Spear that led to Osama bin Laden's death Robert J. O'Neill lamented the Eagles' Super Bowl hopes practically ending at the hands of the referees.

Outside of the big names and verified Twitter accounts, fans who claimed to not be supporters of either team but watched the Super Bowl for the sake of it being the last football game of the season were also frustrated with how the game turned out.

While Bradberry would later admit that he did tug on Smith-Schuster's jersey, he also added that he was "hoping they would let it slide."

The biggest argument from the fans' perspective was that while Bradberry did tug on the jersey, the amount of physicality that was allowed throughout the Super Bowl should have given Bradberry at least some leeway and how it did not match the call.

Regardless, Super Bowl LVII will go down in the record books as the Chiefs' second championship trophy in the Patrick Mahomes era, but the thought of what could have been and how it would have played out will now all be in the past as the final whistle had been blown for the 2022 NFL season.