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.
What about this part of his antics today. Standing on the painted Sean Taylor number? pic.twitter.com/oAyVAEpPmV
— Alex M. (@bmx1195) October 18, 2021
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.
Jackson Mahomes was seen here dancing on the Sean Taylor “21” logo which was chained off to begin with.
— Owen Kidd (@OKiddVT) October 17, 2021
This should infuriate everyone, this is disgraceful. pic.twitter.com/7puweqqOuM
Jackson Mahomes has done a lot of idiotic things for attention, but dancing on Sean Taylor's number in a chained-off area the day it was being retired just for a corny TikTok video is infuriating. pic.twitter.com/7k9Vh4Ctpf
— Joshua Sánchez (@joshnsanchez) October 18, 2021
Case Closed.
— Chad Ryan (@ChadwikoTWW) October 17, 2021
Jackson Mahomes danced on the Sean Taylor #21 sideline tribute for TikTok.
Bigger question probably needs to be why anyone was allowed to stand on it to begin with.
Not good enough @FedExField pic.twitter.com/qNY8GnL1gf
For me to even acknowledge Jackson Mahomes he must've done something irredeemably stupid like dancing on the memorial of a beloved player who died prematurely while his family was in attendance on the day they retired his number. I need apologies stat & not just from him. pic.twitter.com/Hw8b2RBVWX
— Reese Waters (@reesewaters) October 18, 2021
Washington Fans are pissed Jackson Mahomes was dancing on Sean Taylor's No. 21 memorial painted on the sidelines.
— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) October 17, 2021
What's wrong with this dude? 🤦♂️https://t.co/5nVThu1C0Y
Where's that pipe spewing sewage at FedEx Field when you really need it? https://t.co/5sDxuKLNNt
— Luke Thomas🏋️♀️ (@lthomasnews) October 18, 2021
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.
I want to sincerely apologize for accidentally being on the Sean Taylor #21 at FedEx Field. We were directed to stand in that area and I meant absolutely no disrespect to him or his family.
— Jackson Mahomes (@jacksonmahomes) October 18, 2021
Many on social media are asking why did Washington put the VIP area right above Taylor’s number. It is a valid question.
Why aren't people more mad that the WFT had the designated area for the Chiefs' VIPs directly on Sean Taylor's number? There are literally so many other sections they could have roped off for them to stand on.
— lindsey ok (@lindseyyok) October 18, 2021
I can't believe I'm commenting on this:
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) October 18, 2021
- Jackson Mahomes shouldn't be dancing on Sean Taylor's number. Bad look.
- However, he didn't step over a rope to get on that number. From what I've seen, Washington designated that area for people to be pregame. Blame the team for that.
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.
Strange I see multiple people standing inside of the gate. So quick to lie instead of posting facts. https://t.co/gXLiTAYDHL pic.twitter.com/fBeCKu9a0v
— Yellow Boiii (@yellow815) October 17, 2021
Was at the game... Took pics of the area... All VIPs were in this area. You can see the gaurs in red making sure it's only VIPs. pic.twitter.com/2loVh9hQDC
— Antonio DeMarco (@tonydemarco_vet) October 18, 2021
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.