Taylor Swift’s association with the Kansas City Chiefs may be influencing NFL referees on the field, according to Stephen A. Smith.
Fans were left seething on Saturday night when Kansas City benefited from two highly-controversial decisions in their playoff win over the Houston Texans, which Swift watched from her private suite at Arrowhead.
The Texans were penalized for what many felt were very soft fouls on Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, with Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy branding one of them a ‘disgrace’.
ESPN commentator Troy Aikman also said he ‘couldn’t disagree more’ with an unnecessary roughing call on Mahomes during the third quarter.
And amid the outrage on social media over referees ‘rigging’ games for the back-to-back Super Bowl champions, Smith has suggested that Swift – the high-profile girlfriend of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce – could be one of the reasons why they are getting the rub of the green.
Taylor Swift’s association with the Chiefs may be influencing referees, says Stephen A. Smith
Smith made the controversial claim after Kansas City’s playoff win over the Houston Texans
‘Now here’s where the controversy comes in, and it’s uncomfortable but we’re gonna say it because it’s First Take,’ the ESPN analyst said after Saturday’s game.
‘We’re gonna bring up the popularity of Patrick Mahomes because of his greatness, we’re gonna bring up the fact that he has box-office appeal. We’re gonna bring up the fact that Taylor Swift being a Chiefs fan and the lady of Travis Kelce doesn’t hurt.
‘That’s not to say the officials go out there and are intentionally doing this stuff, but it ain’t like the audience, for the opposition especially, doesn’t have a reason to look at some of those things and say, “What the hell is going on here?”‘
At the end of Saturday’s game, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans took a thinly-veiled swipe at NFL referees by suggesting his team were against ‘everybody’ on the day at Arrowhead.
Yet defensive end Will Anderson Jr., who was handed one of the controversial penalties for a tackle on Mahomes, went one step further and claimed Houston knew it would be ‘us against the refs’ in Kansas City.
‘If you’re DeMeco Ryans you can’t say that. If you’re one of the players you can’t say that. But ain’t nobody fining me for it,’ Smith continued.
‘Again, I don’t know. But I know that that [roughing the passer call] had no business being called against Will Anderson. I know there were several calls that were against the Houston Texans that were highly questionable.
‘And what the Kansas City Chiefs have to respect is there are people that are gonna look at that and say, “Why is that?”‘
Patrick Mahomes benefited from some controversial calls in their Divisional playoff victory
Houston coach DeMeco Ryans aimed a thinly-veiled dig at the officials after their defeat
Smith believes Swift could be a reason why referees are giving the Chiefs the rub of the green
Swift returned to Arrowhead at the weekend for the first time since the Chiefs’ regular-season matchup with the Texans on December 21.
The pop megastar was filmed pumping up a group of Chiefs fans as she marched into Arrowhead, telling them as she made her way to her luxury suite: ‘How’s it going? You guys are here early.’ She then clapped her hands together before adding: ‘I love it’.
DailyMail.com exclusively pictured Swift and her family leaving her New York City apartment early on Saturday to make the trip.
She was then filmed arriving at the stadium with her parents, Scott and Andrea, and brother Austin. They even beat Kelce to the stadium with the tight end arriving just after.
Swift watched the game alongside WNBA superstar and Chiefs fan Caitlin Clark, with the pair seen hugging when Kelce scored a touchdown in the game.
