The hype is both manufactured and real. A new NFL season is inching closer, and the sights and smells of hope are intoxicating. No 1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams has one sensational series in the first quarter of the first preseason game and Bears fans already have amnesia when it comes to the franchise’s long history of underwhelming signal-callers. Maybe Williams will be the next Patrick Mahomes – he really looked like a stud.
But for now, and until he stops playing quarterback at a level in a different stratosphere than everyone else, Mahomes is the unquestioned face of the NFL. And the Kansas City Chiefs, with their ticket seemingly punched to the Super Bowl on an annual basis, are the gold standard of NFL organizations. Jolly Andy Reid, once underestimated but shrewd as hell, is the coaching face of the league. And of course, Travis Kelce is the face of the NFL for Swifties new to the football or anyone who cares about celebrity gossip.
Until proven otherwise, Kansas City remains the epicenter of the NFL, where the best of the best reside. What’s not to love? Mahomes, Reid and Kelce are an extremely likable trifecta. They all bring a different flair, and collectively they’re an undeniable force.
Yet underneath the Super Bowl wins and the coaching records and the paparazzi swooning over the Kelce-Swift relationship is a different narrative. A different Kansas City Chiefs that is pretty icky in its laxness. The Chiefs’ tumultuous offseason has been well-documented.
Most famously, breakout wide receiver Rashee Rice is facing eight felony charges for aggravated assault after his 119mph street racing caused a six-car crash. He also left the scene of the crime.
Former defensive lineman Isaiah Buggs was charged with a misdemeanor for animal cruelty. A month later he was charged with second degree burglary and domestic assault.
Kicker Harrison Butker gave a doozy of a commencement address in which he railed against abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, and told a bunch of female graduates that they were more excited about potential motherhood than having a career.
Not to mention offensive lineman Wanya Morris and Chukwuebuka Godrick were charged with misdemeanors for marijuana possession.
Only Buggs, the journeyman tackle, was released. Instead of condemning Butker’s speech that was offensive to so many, Reid grew defensive when a reporter suggested Butker was speaking ill of women.
“I don’t think he was speaking ill of women, but he has opinions and we all respect that. I let you guys in this room, and you have a lot of opinions that I don’t like,” Reid snapped back at a May presser. It’s one thing to defend your players, but cowardice to not address a message that many consider symbolic of toxic masculinity.
Instead of condemning their homophobic kicker in any meaningful way, the Chiefs rewarded Butker with a four-year extension valued at $25.6m. He’s now the NFL’s highest paid kicker. When you’re coming off nailing 94.3% of your field goals, it doesn’t matter who you offend.
This offseason was no fluke. The Chiefs under Reid have a pretty sordid history of ignoring off-field trouble.
The night after Tyreek Hill was arrested for allegedly trying to choke his pregnant girlfriend, Oklahoma State kicked him off the team. A year later, the Chiefs welcomed him with open arms after he ran a 4.25sec 40-yard dash at his pro day. “We uncovered every possible stone that we possibly could, and we feel very comfortable with that part of it,” Reid said at the time. A few years later Hill was under investigation for his three-year-old son’s fractured arm.
Hill has hardly been the exception. The Chiefs signed punishing linebacker Frank Clark in 2019 who had been dismissed from Michigan after his own domestic violence issues. Soon after, the team loaded up on linebackers and accused abusers after adding Terrell Suggs for its playoff run. Suggs had already been legally accused of assault three times.
These are the same Chiefs that failed to address Kareem Hunt’s alleged assault in an Ohio hotel. It was only after TMZ released video confirming the incident that the Chiefs released the troubled rusher.
The Chiefs’ disturbing history of turning a blind eye to controversy certainly predates Reid. Yet when Reid was hired as head coach on 4 January 2013, only a month had passed since Jovan Belcher’s murder of his 22-year-old girlfriend and subsequent suicide in the Chiefs’ parking lot. The opening months of Reid’s tenure were a time of deep emotional healing. It was also an opportunity for a fresh start in how the team vetted players with mental health issues or violent pasts. Instead, the organization took a different route.
But hey, they’ve been a playoff staple and won three Super Bowls since, so why mess with the formula?
The Chiefs, in their dynasty era, are a different beast than the NFL’s most recent dominant team. They’re likable because their biggest names are likable. Conversely, the faces of the New England Patriots were largely hated by everyone outside the northeast. Tom Brady and Bill Belchick were long branded as cheaters and owner Robert Kraft was accused of soliciting prostitution. Only after the dynasty broke up did they become more likable. Well, maybe just Brady.
The Chiefs in many ways are a microcosm for a league that has long operated with a “talent trumps trouble” mantra. It’s an ethos that lurks amid all the tremendous community service projects, and players populating rosters who are truly using their platforms for good. Yet the Chiefs have a special stronghold on tolerance of bad behavior. We turn a blind eye to the Chiefs’ history of turning a blind eye because they are winners. Their stars are larger than life figures who can throw the most jaw-dropping passes or flash heart hands to the world’s most famous singer or wear Hawaiian shirts and yuk it up with the best of ‘em.
Ideally, the Chiefs with their current place as NFL royalty would set the standard for judgment when it comes to player selection. Show us you can win without a few bad guys on the roster. But it feels like we’ve become inured and accept what the Chiefs give us as long as they keep winning. Does that say more about our priorities as NFL fans or the Chiefs?
Seriously, are more fans upset by Rice’s aggressive driving or how Rice’s looming suspension might impact the team’s receiver depth? Were more fans triggered by Butker’s asinine comments or by Kadarius Toney’s drops last season? Surely we know what the organization thinks.
In the second annual NFLPA survey released in February, Clark Hunt was named the league’s worst owner. Players noted that he’s failed to upgrade locker rooms and team facilities in general. The nutritionist also got an F for not being there much or producing enough individualized meal plans. The training staff also got an F and the team’s travel, and strength coaches also leave a lot to be desired to be desired. If only what ails the Chiefs’ culture stopped there.
• This article was amended on 22 August 2024 to correct the last name of Isaiah Buggs.
