Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ pit bull will ‘love on you’
Growing up, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was frightened of dogs.
“Until I was in high school,” Mahomes said. “Then I went straight to a pit bull.”
Yes, Mahomes and his girlfriend Brittany Matthews share a pit bull named “Steel.”
Or, “Steel the Pit,” as Matthews calls him. In fact, that is the name of Steel’s own Instagram account, which has nearly 2,800 followers and is run by Matthews (aka “mom”).
A Valentine’s Day gift from Mahomes (aka “dad”) two years ago has turned into the couple’s good buddy. Matthews had Steel as a pup when she lived at home in Tyler, Texas, and Mahomes was in his final season at Texas Tech. They came to Kansas City after the 2017 NFL Draft.
“He’s an awesome dog, very loving, very energetic, so just having him, he’s like my best friend,” Mahomes said. “It’s a great dog to have.”
Steel is a dog about town. Matthews walks him in the Plaza area, sometimes with a Chiefs scarf she bought at Rally House.
Pit bulls have a reputation for aggression. Some communities have banned them, suggesting the breed is wired for violence. But studies have suggested fatal dog attacks aren’t a specific breed issue.
And Steel hasn’t hurt anyone.
“I hate how they get stereotyped as aggressive,” Matthews said. “Any dog can be aggressive, it’s basically the way they’re raised. This is the sweetest pup ever.”
In January, Mahomes came to the defense of pit bulls on social media. An attorney for dog-bite victims posted to Twitter a commercial encouraging people to avoid adopting pit bulls. He had hoped to run it during the Super Bowl but didn’t have enough funds.
Still the commercial has amassed 8 million hits.
Mahomes tweeted in response: “I love my dog #PitbullsForLife,” and he retweeted others who expressed a similar thought.
“We love bringing to light how good of a dog he is,” Mahomes said. “We let everybody pet him, he’ll love on you.”
Here are some of Steel’s posts:
This story was originally published July 26, 2018 at 7:56 PM.