Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is a star on the field, but when it comes to politics, he’s reducing himself to riding the bench. The NFL star says he doesn’t plan to endorse a presidential candidate in this year’s election.
“I think my place is to inform people to get registered to vote, is to inform people to do their own research and then make their best decision for them and their family,” he told reporters Wednesday. “Every time I’m on this stage and I get asked these questions, I’m going to refer back to that, because I think that’s what makes America so great.”
If someone prominent is opposed to Donald Trump, I think it’s cowardly for them to not speak up about the authoritarian threat he represents, even though I’ve learned not to expect this from celebrities. Given his wife’s open support for Trump, it’s entirely possible that he’s pro-MAGA himself.
But it’s noteworthy that Mahomes is declining to weigh in at a time when the city he represents as an athlete and the people who live there have so much at stake — especially when it comes to the issue of police misconduct, which Mahomes has said he cares about.
Just a month ago, Missouri Republicans succeeded in passing a ballot measure that forces Kansas City to spend 25% of its general revenue on policing, up from 20%. And local officials have minimal influence over how that money is used.
Adding insult to injury for Kansas City, local officials will have no say in how their money gets spent by the police department—even as they are required by the state to pour more funds into it.
That’s because Kansas City is the only city in Missouri that doesn’t control its police department. The Kansas City Police Department is instead run by a five-member board, four of whom are appointed by the governor; the mayor has the fifth seat.
In 2021, civil rights groups in Kansas City sent a letter to the Justice Department requesting a probe of the Kansas City Police Department, which they alleged has a long pattern of racial bias and excessive use of force. (When the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division opened an investigation into the KCPD’s employment practices the following year, the department issued a statement saying the department would cooperate fully.)
So while Mahomes may not believe it’s in his interest to endorse a candidate, I’d argue that the NFL star — who has spoken out against police brutality and social injustice — is leaving his city hanging with his silence.
And while the Biden-Harris administration has pursued such investigations in the past and shown an openness to holding abusive police accountable, Trump’s White House scuttled similar efforts to punish departments accused of misconduct. And the GOP presidential nominee is actively running on a vow to immunize police from accountability and has stated a desire to deploy the military in inner cities to crack down on purported crime.
So while Mahomes may not believe it’s in his interest to endorse a candidate, I’d argue that the NFL star — who has spoken out against police brutality and social injustice — is leaving his city hanging with his silence.
Because if the Republican nominee wins in November, cities like Kansas City — which right-wingers portray as overrun with crime and incapable of self-governance — are likely to be in the crosshairs.