Patrick Mahomes’ conscience and character will guide him through any protest dilemma
America’s Game returns to Arrowhead Stadium Thursday night when the defending Super Bowl-champion Chiefs play host to the Houston Texans in an NFL season opener with the makings of an oasis in a landscape dominated by the pandemic and a robust social justice movement.
NBC can expect a massive audience, and many will be riveted to every gesture and utterance of Patrick Mahomes, the 24-year-old face of the league.
Widely adored as Mahomes is, though, it might be surmised that he will be lugging a heavy burden of expectations.
And that’s even more before the game than during, given the anticipation of a collective acknowledgment of the Black Lives Matter movement likely to occur before or during the national anthem.
As a close friend texted me the other day, Mahomes “is in an unwinnable situation. If he stands, a lot of the hip progressives who love him will decide he’s a sellout; if he kneels, a lot of the conservatives who love his easy-going manner will decide he doesn’t love his country.”
And perhaps there is some dilemma for Mahomes to negotiate, knowing he could be condemned for what he does or doesn’t do.
But if we’ve learned anything from Mahomes these last few years, on and off the field, it’s that he possesses a unique internal compass that enables him to navigate precarious situations with clarity. He always knows where he stands, literally and figuratively, and who he is.
And that’s a charismatic, galvanizing force, a person of character and conscience as he demonstrated by participating over the summer (along with teammate Tyrann Mathieu) in a Black Lives Matter video that compelled the NFL to respond.
As such, he knows he has enormous sway even as he understands it’s not about him. It’s about doing what’s right for humanity and equality, as he put it recently. And not letting others distract or detract from the cause by amplifying methods over the message.
People fixated on whether Mahomes and others kneel during the anthem, or insist on warping that meaning to call it anti-military or unpatriotic in a nation whose lifeblood is free speech, aren’t listening.
“We’re trying to fix something, we’re trying to make it where it’s equal, everybody feels safe, everybody feels secure, everybody can go about living their lives and they really, truly care about the person next to him,” he said recently, later adding, “People are asking, ‘Are you going to kneel, are you not going to kneel?’
“They’re not asking about the actual injustices that you’re trying to fix and what you’re trying to help the community with.”
For all his fame and fortune, one of the few ways Mahomes remains like everyone else is that ultimately all he has is his name. And as much as he’s in the stratosphere as a performer, he somehow remains grounded as a person.
That means he is conscious of all the good he can do, whether through his foundation or getting out the vote or just the goodwill he creates around him from the locker room to hospitals to about anywhere else. And he knows that since you can’t please everyone, you’d sure better please yourself.
When I asked him the other day if he was worried about alienating some by embracing his platform as he has, Mahomes spoke of “having the right people around me.”
“I have a lot of great people around me that believe in me and are going to listen to me and my beliefs, no matter what they are,” he said. “I’m just going to trust in those people. If I have the respect of those people, I’ll be good with anything else going on in the world.”
Mahomes didn’t elaborate on who those people were. Perhaps it was family (including now-fiancee Brittany Matthews), perhaps his representatives and some teammates. But he definitely has spoken with owner Clark Hunt, team president Mark Donovan and coach Andy Reid about all this.
And it appears indicative of his influence that Hunt now seems to be signaling an openness to demonstration after previously stating his preference that players stand during the anthem and seeking to dissuade Marcus Peters from protesting.
This is “a time to be sensitive, a time to listen, a time to understand,” Hunt said recently. “And I recognize that around the league there may be some kneeling that goes on with the national anthem, and I just think the country is in a really different place at this point.”
Not as different a place, though, as Mahomes hopes it can become.
“Now, it’s all about action; it’s all about the next step,” he said in an Adidas ad released Tuesday. “We’re going to be back. We’re going to be playing sports. But at the same time, we’re going to be taking action. And we’re going to be making change in this world so that it’s a better place when we leave it.”
So speaks a uniter in a time of division, a time and place when a voice of character could and should resound.
Reminiscent of President Teddy Roosevelt’s “Man In The Arena,” he can’t worry about the petty critics but instead “strives valiantly” and “spends himself in a worthy cause.”
“Who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement,” Roosevelt added. “And who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
But one other thing we know about Mahomes by now: He’ll find a way to win in a seemingly unwinnable situation, in this case to stand on the right side of history, and welcome you to follow along.
“I’m going to do … what I believe is right, and I’m going to do whatever I can to fight for equality for all people …, ” he said. “I’m going to continue that fight, and I’m not worried about people and how they’re going to do negative stuff back to me.
“I’m worried about doing what’s right for humanity and making sure that all people feel equal.”
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 5:00 AM.