A decision by Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes to avoid political endorsements earned him praise from sports journalist Jason Whitlock.
After Mahomes told Time Magazine that he would not be publicly endorsing either Donald Trump or Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential election, Whitlock observed that the 28-year-old NFL quarterback must have gotten “tired of living the lie” of wokeness.
“Patrick Mahomes has pivoted a little bit because I think for a little bit, he tried to go woke, the George Floyd thing, he got caught up in that, and the Colin Kaepernick thing. But he has now steered to a more authentic place,” the podcaster and radio host said on the “Fearless with Jason Whitlock” podcast.
“My name’s been in it, I ain’t in it, I’m good. I like this Patrick Mahomes,” Whitlock added.
He praised Mahomes for not using his influence to push any political views.
‘There are athletes like Mahomes that are tired of living the lie and believing one thing but knowing I have to say something else,’ Whitlock said.
The Super Bowl MVP urged voters to do their own research ahead of the November election, declining to endorse either party’s contenders publicly just as he did in 2020 during his interview as part of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2024 series.
“I don’t want to pressure anyone to vote for a certain president,” Mahomes said in the interview published last week. “I want people to use their voice, whoever they believe in. I want them to do the research.”
“I continue to educate myself,” Mahomes said. “I don’t want to make a quick response to something that takes a lot of education to really learn and make a swaying comment based off that. But I know we have to find a solution of some way to make this stuff stop.”
Changing the game.
Patrick Mahomes has been named one of @TIME’s Most Influential People of 2024. pic.twitter.com/8wIOybfSKt
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) April 16, 2024
However, the player supported LeBron James in his “More Than a Vote” campaign in 2020 that focused on getting black people registered to vote.
Mahomes, who won the Most Valuable Player award for the third time after winning the 2023 Super Bowl, joined his teammates in celebrating with President Biden who said he was “one of the greatest quarterbacks of his generation — and, I predict, of any generation.”
I’m from WI, but really love the Kansas City Chiefs! Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce giving President Biden the obligatory KC jersey choked me up. pic.twitter.com/imctu4ZYVc
— Laurie (@Laurieluvsmolly) June 5, 2023
During his comments on Mahomes, Whitlock said he wished “other athletes would take this exact same position” by saying “I’m not qualified. You make your own decision. I’m staying out of this.”
Journalist Steve Kim agreed with Whitlock but predicted that Mahomes “is gonna get it” from leftists like “the Jemele Hills and the Joy-less Reids” who will accuse the quarterback of “becoming MAGA” with his non-endorsement of any Democratic candidate.
He also posited his theory that perhaps Mahomes is actually supporting Trump but can’t publicly say so, prompting Whitlock to speculate that it would “cost him too much money” to go against the expected narrative.
“I bet a lot of the racial conversation that goes on over on social media finally just wore Patrick Mahomes out because it’s not authentic to him,” Whitlock said, noting that “he’s half black and half white and this whole thing about choosing a side” does not resonate especially with his own children.
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Author: Frieda Powers
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