ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes responded to Thursday’s video of Las Vegas Raiders safety Trey Taylor mocking him while holding a “Kermit the Frog” doll donning a red jersey and a wig meant to resemble the quarterback’s hair.
“It’s still early in the year,” Mahomes said when asked by reporters following the Chiefs’ training camp practice Friday morning. “Stuff like that happens. It’ll get handled when it gets handled.”
Mahomes also said he didn’t receive many messages from family and friends on his phone to inform him of Taylor’s actions.
“Everybody kind of just lets me play,” Mahomes said. “I mean, they know how I am. They don’t need to send me anything to keep me motivated.”
After the Raiders’ practice concluded Thursday, Taylor and other players approached the sideline to interact with fans in attendance. One of the fans, Josh Jacopetti, brought the doll to practice and asked Taylor to hold it. Another fan recorded Taylor holding the doll and uploaded it to “X.” The post has since been deleted.
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Raiders mock Patrick Mahomes with ‘Kermit the Frog’ doll
Since he became a star in the league in 2018, it’s a running joke that Mahomes’ voice sounds similar to that of the Muppets character Kermit the Frog.
Mahomes, an eight-year veteran, has a 10-2 record against the Raiders, the Chiefs’ archrival. Prior to the Chiefs’ memorable, Super Bowl-winning run in January and February, the Raiders were the last opponent to defeat them, doing so in an upset at Arrowhead Stadium on Christmas Day.
Shortly after, the Chiefs got some payback when they won Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium, the Raiders’ home field. Las Vegas coach Antonio Pierce made headlines when he said he would instill “Patrick Mahomes rules” whenever his team played the Chiefs that were focused on roughing up the quarterback.
Considering Thursday’s incident, Chiefs teammates have already made it clear how eager they are to play the Raiders.
“I saw it,” defensive end George Karlaftis said. “Yeah, we’ll see what happens when we play them, October 27 and November 29. Yeah, I’ve got the dates.”
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(Photo of Patrick Mahomes: Denny Medley / USA Today)
