Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes, Tyrann Mathieu vow to head up voter-registration effort
Several NFL stars, including Patrick Mahomes and Tyrann Mathieu, have contributed to a powerful Black Lives Matter video. They’ve shared their feelings about racial and social injustice on social media in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers.
Now, the two Chiefs leaders will do even more.
“It’s going to be much more than guys pitching football camps back home,” Mathieu said. “I see a lot more guys really getting involved in their communities and pushing things forward.”
To Mathieu and Mahomes, the starting safety and star quarterback of the Super Bowl-winning Chiefs, that means taking an active role in voter registration.
“It’s a lot more than just protesting,” Mathieu said. “You have to find a call to action. I think voter registration can impact a lot of people.
“If we can make voting cool, if we can make it atrendy thing, then we’re really changing the future, setting these kids up for a great future. ... A lot of folks don’t think that’s cool. Maybe we can make it cool again.”
As protests continue around the country, calls for easier and more voter registration have gained momentum in the sports world, especially in the college ranks. Last week, 62 Missouri football players marched peacefully from the Mizzou campus to the Boone County Courthouse and registered to vote.
Georgia Tech has led a movement to make Election Day, Nov. 3 this year, an NCAA mandated day off from practice to allow athletes to vote.
Mathieu and Mahomes want to see what they can do to get professional athletes involved. They’ve spoken with Chiefs CEO and chairman Clark Hunt and team president Mark Donavan and have more discussions with teammates in the works.
“We really want to move forward with this,” Mahomes said. “We’re going to try to find the best way to give money or support or whatever it is to get as many people registered to vote, so they can go in and effect change.”
Mathieu sees voter registration as a very worthy cause for the NFL and other sports.
“If we could get a program going, and to see 30 other football teams do it and 30 basketball teams do it ...” Mathieu said. “It’s going to be our duty, our responsibility, to understand that we may have a million dollars and maybe can fix some things to a certain extent.
“But to really see our kids have a future, to see young minorities hold great seats of power, that comes through voter registration.”
This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 7:32 PM.