Following the Kansas City Chiefs’ 40-32 home loss to the Las Vegas Raiders last week, one of the team’s most vocal leaders, Tyrann Mathieu, was exactly that.
“I haven’t felt this motivated in a very, very long time and I know my teammates feel the exact same way,” the eighth-year safety said after the game.
Highly respected for his preparation and fiery competitiveness on the field, this season Mathieu has picked up right where he left off in 2019 when he was named the Chiefs’ most valuable player by his teammates. Through the first five games of the year, the two-time All-Pro has posted 23 total tackles, two quarterback hits, two pass breakups and an interception which he returned for a 25-yard pick-six in Week 4 against the New England Patriots.
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Tyrann Mathieu Will Vote For The First Time in November
While the eighth-year safety is determined to get himself and his teammates back in the win column in Week 6 and beyond, Mathieu struck a different note in a brand new ESPN cover story released this week.
Written by ex-NFL defensive back and The Undefeated commentator Domonique Foxworth, the former third-round draft pick opened up about his NFL journey, laundry list of charitable work off the field and even a major life milestone that he will be checking off in the coming weeks.
In November, Mathieu will be voting for the first time. He never believed that government was for people like him. “Growing up in inner cities, you feel like the left-out kid,” he says. “You don’t believe those things work for you.” Now he believes there is power in his vote, and he plans to exercise it.
“There’s so many people that have gone through so much to give us this opportunity, this freedom to vote,” Mathieu says. “I think it’s my responsibility to bring awareness and to let everybody around me know that is their obligation and their responsibility as well. You have that right. You have that voice. So just be confident in it, use that.”
Mathieu, Mahomes Head Up Chiefs’ Voter Registration Program
Mathieu, who is heavily involved in the community in Kansas City and hometown of New Orleans, currently heads up the Chiefs’ voter registration program along with QB Patrick Mahomes. In celebration of National Voter Registration Day, the 28-year-old defensive star held a registration event in conjunction with the KC Election Board and Rock the Vote on September 22.
“If we can make voting cool, if we can make that a trendy thing, then we’re really changing the future, we’re really setting these kids up for a great future, we’re really allowing these kids more access to more opportunities,” Mathieu explained during a June press conference. “The way to do that is to put people in office that are going to do that.”
Next, the Super Bowl champion will join his fellow citizens in line at the polls on November 3, two days after the Chiefs’ Week 8 contest against the New York Jets — now known as the Le’Veon Bell revenge game.
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