NFL
“Patrick, for your whole career you have had so many great people help you win. So, who is your favorite ref?”
Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and the Kansas City Chiefs don’t exactly have plenty of support on their side as they try to become the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in a row.
Beyond the sour sentiment usually doled out to sports dynasties, the Chiefs have also received flak for perceived favoritism from officiating during critical moments of games — with Mahomes in particular drawing criticism for selling calls to order to draw flags.
It’s a storyline that has hovered over the Chiefs throughout their 15-2 season, prompting both NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL Referees Association to speak out against that narrative.
“It reminds me of the script, that I write a script for the entire season… It’s a ridiculous theory, for anyone who might take it seriously,” Goodell told reporters on Monday.
“It is insulting and preposterous to hear conspiracy theories that somehow 17 officiating crews consisting of 138 officials are colluding to assist one team,” NFLRA executive director Scott Green added. “NFL officials are graded every week, on every single play of each game.
“These grades are the determining factor as to who receives postseason assignments. The NFLRA commends its members, who all strive to do exactly what all 32 NFL teams do, which is to excel at their jobs so that they are working the last game of the season — the Super Bowl.”
But even with that pushback from league officials, that hasn’t stopped some media members from calling out Kansas City for the number of calls that have gone their way this season.
Count former 98.5 The Sports Hub and WZLX radio host Rich Shertenlieb among those looking to take the Chiefs to task. Shertenlieb grilled both Mahomes and Kelce about the subject during Super Bowl Opening Night on Monday in New Orleans.
“Patrick, for your whole career you have had so many great people help you win. So, who is your favorite ref?” Shertenlieb asked Mahomes.
“That’s hilarious,” Mahomes replied. “All the refs are great, man. All the refs are great. They do the best they can. We go out there and play the game the right way.”
“Is there one you give a Christmas card to possibly?” Shertenlieb said as part of his follow-up question.
“Not that I can remember,” Mahomes said. “I’ll have to ask my teammates to try and figure it out.”
Kelce did not offer up the same amount of back-and-forth with Shertenlieb when posed the same question up at his podium.
“That’s a good question. Anybody else?” Kelce said to Shertenlieb.
While Shertenlieb and many football fans in New England are likely rooting against Mahomes’ attempts to three-peat, the Chiefs QB does have one supporter … in Tom Brady.
“The only thing I root for in these situations are great games. I will say if the Chiefs win, I will be very happy for them. I mean, what they’ve achieved is unmatched,” Brady said Monday on the “Let’s Go!” podcast with Jim Gray.
“And I think that’s cool because people always hated on us for so many years. And I didn’t understand it because all I did was like — we try to do things the right way, we try to go out there and compete for our job and win.”
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