Juan Thornhill’s two-year stint with the Cleveland Browns was hardly memorable.
But the NFL safety still managed to attract attention on his way out of town, engaging in a social media feud with local sports talk host Adam “The Bull” Gerstenhaber.
On Monday, news broke that the Pittsburgh Steelers had signed Thornhill to a one-year deal just weeks after the Browns released the former Virginia standout.
And that provided Gerstenhaber with an opportunity to promote his plans to discuss Thornhill’s underwhelming two-year run in Cleveland on an upcoming episode of The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show.
Gerstenhaber’s post clearly didn’t sit well with Thornhill, who took to X to respond. After accusing the longtime sports talk host of being “obsessed” with him, the 29-year-old defensive back then told him, “if you need viewers on your little podcast just say that.”
While one could certainly question how much Juan Thornhill talk actually moves the needle in Cleveland or elsewhere these days, the back and forth didn’t stop there. After accusing the two-time Super Bowl champion of being “triggered,” Gerstenhaber then told him he “should like podcasts since you did more talking than playing in Cleveland.”
Thornhill proceeded to reply with a pair of pictures likening the former 92.3 The Fan host to a hippo.
That proved to be Thornhill’s final comment on the matter, as Gerstenhaber criticized him for stooping to making a fat joke, just as Browns offensive tackle Dawand Jones did during his own dustup with the sports talk host last season. “The Bull” went on to further criticize the safety’s disappointing tenure with the Browns before reflecting on their exchange.
“He has every right to come back at me….all good…I better be able to take it when I dish it out,” he wrote. “But as always, I speak the truth, at least the way I see it and I try to stand up for the fans….even the one’s who dont like me and I ALWAYS will….”
All things considered, this back and forth was relatively tame, but it was still interesting to see that it was such an innocuous post from Gerstenhaber that set the whole thing in motion. If nothing else, it generated more buzz than Juan Thornhill’s two-year run in Cleveland did and added a new wrinkle to upcoming editions of the Browns-Steelers rivalry.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.