Getty Patrick and Brittany Mahomes at a Dallas Mavericks game in 2020.
The Kansas City Chiefs Week 10 victory had a bittersweet feel to it after wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster left the game with a concussion because of a controversial hit that appeared to be a helmet-to-helmet collision on a defenseless receiver.
To make matters worse, the referees decided to keep their flags in their pockets. Teammates reacted to the no-call after the game but few were as livid as Brittany Mahomes, wife of quarterback Patrick Mahomes II.
It’s not the first time the Chiefs’ leading lady has taken aim at the NFL officials on social media, criticizing them earlier this season in Week 2. After all, those are her friends and family in harm’s way and although Smith-Schuster is a newer member of the Kansas City community, he’s had a direct connection to the Mahomes household since signing this offseason.
Brittany Mahomes Rips NFL Refs on JuJu Smith-Schuster Hit
The initial reaction from Brittany Mahomes on Twitter was probably the most outraged one — although that first tweet sparked a bit of a tirade against the NFL referees.
“At some point, refs need to be held accountable,” Brittany voiced to fans. “THAT’S A MF FLAG.”
At some point, refs need to be held accountable. THATS A MF FLAG
That opinion is one many football fans have argued about over the years. There are mandatory fines and press conferences for players when they do something wrong, why not the referees?
The complaint from Brittany Mahomes quickly blew up on Twitter, with over eight thousand likes and over 500 retweets at this time. “I know one thing, arrowheads gonna let them know,” she continued on the social media app, and Chiefs faithful definitely held up their end of the bargain at the stadium.
“Alright we like hitting people in the head?” Brittany questioned later before retweeting: “This man is headhunting on every play now” — per KC Sports Network’s Matt Lane.
They are, of course, referring to Jacksonville Jaguars defensive back Andre Cisco, who ironically intercepted Patrick Mahomes late in the contest. The hard-hitter may have gone unpenalized but the NFL could still rule to fine him later this week.
If that occurs, you can thank Brittany Mahomes (among others) for her unofficial role as the Chiefs’ spokesperson on this matter. The league can fine players for questioning the refs but they cannot silence a loved one, and Brittany just used her influence to shed light on this situation.
Patrick Mahomes Has a More Diplomatic Response
Patrick Mahomes was asked to comment on the Smith-Schuster hit after the game but as expected, the face of the franchise was much more calculated about his response.
“It’s tough man,” he began, “I don’t think there was any ill intent from the player. I mean he was just trying to knock the ball loose and do stuff like that but obviously, there was some helmet-to-helmet contact, and we want to get that out of the league as much as possible for player safety.”
He concluded: “If we can review that and make it to where there can be some type of penalty or something, obviously you want to get that stuff out of the league as much as possible.”
The QB then clarified that he doesn’t necessarily want there to be more reviews and stoppages, noting that “if it’s helmet-to-helmet it’s supposed to be a flag.” He added: “I know that guy wasn’t trying to and I know it’s a bang-bang call that doesn’t always go your way, but you want to do your best to try and get that stuff out of the league so that we can have those guys out there playing and being safe.”
Reading between the lines, Patrick Mahomes appeared to agree with his wife that the refs missed the call on Cisco — he’s just trying to be a little more diplomatic about how he addresses it. Unfortunately, no matter what happens with the Jaguars DB, this will go down as yet another blunder by the NFL officials who take very little accountability.
Hopefully, Smith-Schuster is healthy and back on the field sooner rather than later.