When Patrick Mahomes shut down criticism about his heritage
Patrick Mahomes is one of the NFL's brightest stars, having accomplished a lot in his short career. Despite his success, the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback has had to deal with the issue of race, as have so many other black quarterbacks. Mahomes expressed pride in his black heritage in a July 2020 interview.
He also admitted that he is aware of social media comments about his race and how they have affected him personally.
Mahomes said:
“I've seen how people, on Twitter, have tweeted and said, ‘Oh, you're not full Black. But I've always just had the confidence and believed in who I am. And I've known that I'm Black. And I'm proud to be Black. And I'm proud to have a white mom too. I'm just proud of who I am. And I've always had that confidence in myself.”
After the Chiefs won Super Bowl 54 back in the 2019 season, Patrick Mahomes became the third black quarterback in NFL history to win the game. Doug Williams (Super Bowl 22) and Russell Wilson (Super Bowl 48) are the other two.
Mahomes was the second quarterback to be named Super Bowl MVP, following Williams. While his stats to this point are off the charts, so is his dedication to using his platform. This became clear when George Floyd was killed in Minnesota on May 25, 2020.
How Patrick Mahomes has addressed the death of George Floyd
In the days following Floyd's death, Patrick Mahomes and other black NFL stars released a video calling for the league to condemn racism in America. The two-time All-Pro noted the usage of his platform and of possible blowback from that video. He was in the middle of negotiating a new deal with the Chiefs.
Mahomes said:
“I understand my platform, I understand that my part in the video is a big part of it. I'm in the middle of negotiating my next contract, to hopefully be a Kansas City Chief for a long time, but I still thought this was important enough and this was something that had to be said."
"It wasn't something I could sit back on and worry about my next contract, because I needed to use my platform to help. Sometimes it's not about money. It's not about fame. It's about doing what's right.”
In July 2020, Mahomes signed a 10-year, $450 million contract extension with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Mahomes on being a black QB in the NFL
In the same interview, Patrick Mahomes was asked how much of the way his and Baltimore Ravens quarterback Jackson's style is discussed in terms of race.
Mahomes said:
“There's definitely some of it that has to and now we're changing the narrative. We're changing people's perspective, showing that no matter what race you are, you can go out there and play the position the right way, and win a lot of football games doing it.”
Without question, there will always still be questions about Patrick Mahomes and his race, but he'll answer them using his aforementioned platform.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit GQ and H/T Sportskeeda.