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Jackson Mahomes draws criticism, apologizes after dancing on Sean Taylor’s number

By Farzin Vousoughian

Mar 10, 2019; Dallas, TX, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes I! (right) watches the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets with his brother Jackson Mahomes (left) at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 10, 2019; Dallas, TX, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes I! (right) watches the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Houston Rockets with his brother Jackson Mahomes (left) at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jackson Mahomes received a lot of heat on Sunday following Kansas City’s 31-13 victory over the Washington Football Team.

Jackson, the brother of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, was seen with Brittany Matthews, Patrick’s fiancée, and Kayle Nicole, Travis Kelce’s girlfriend, on the field at FedEx Field during pregame activities for Week 6.

As many know, Jackson has become a popular figure on TikTok, putting out several short dance videos. It is very common for Jackson to do pregame dances on the sidelines for TikTok. Sunday was no different, except he did it while standing on Sean Taylor’s number, who was honored at halftime. Jackson received plenty of criticism in response.

Jackson Mahomes received plenty of backlash for doing TikTok dance videos on Sean Taylor’s number.

Needless to say, Washington fans—as well as others—were upset. Jackson took to Twitter on Sunday evening to apologize for “accidentally being on Sean Taylor’s” jersey number at FedEx Field. Jackson says he and the people he was with were directed to stand in that area and he “meant absolutely no disrespect” to Taylor nor his family. However, if you read the replies, the criticism hasn’t stopped.

Many on social media are asking why did Washington put the VIP area right above Taylor’s number. It is a valid question.

Having worked for the Kansas City Royals for five seasons as part of their stadium entertainment crew, I have some familiarity with these kinds of things. One thing people need to keep in mind is that there is already limited room on the field. They can’t put it where the teams stand on the sidelines between the 25-yard line all the way to the other 25-yard line because it would be covered up and obviously they want it to be seen clearly. So you’re already limited on space.

Those with VIP access obviously want to be on the field. Washington’s setup had it where they put Taylor’s number in the same area where the VIP section stands during pregame.

One important thing to note is the Washington Football Team wanted to put the number 21 right at the 21-yard line.

Some on social media are suggesting that the detachable chain fence was to protect the number on the field and that Jackson and his friends went in that area when they shouldn’t have. If that was the case, stadium security would have removed them from that spot. But there were other people in the VIP section also.

I can understand both sides. Washington did not have many options and therefore the number and the VIP section for pregame happened to be the same spot. On the other side, as a Chiefs fan, I put myself in the shoes of a Washington fan. How would Chiefs fans feel if they put Derrick Thomas’ or Joe Delaney’s number or Marty Schottenheimer’s initials on the field and someone danced on it? I don’t think Chiefs fans would like that. It is a sensitive subject because Taylor was shot and killed while trying to defend his family.

Jackson has apologized, but a lot of people are still upset. Some are upset at Jackson while some are upset at Washington for allowing people to stand on Taylor’s number. This is likely to be a story for a while, especially in the D.C. area, for a couple of more days.

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