National Attention on Patrick Mahomes After 'Black Lives Matter' Video
In a new article on The Undefeated, Jason Reid has taken a closer look at Patrick Mahomes' place in the recent video released by a coalition of black NFL stars urging the NFL to acknowledge a variety of positions held by the players, including their support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Reid's article, The power of Patrick Mahomes saying 'Black Lives Matter', explores the impact of Mahomes' place in the video, his already-growing legacy, and what Mahomes had and hadn't said before this video.
Reid quotes former Pro Bowl wide receiver Anquan Boldin, a vocal leader among NFL alumni and the co-founder of the Players Coalition. Here's what Boldin told Reid:
“When you go around the league, and you see the faces of these franchises, it’s the quarterback, they’re the draw,” Boldin said on the phone Sunday. “So my point, from the beginning, is that if we could have those guys begin to speak out, what a difference it could make because of the kind of pull quarterbacks have in this league. A quarterback’s voice carries.”
Mahomes' voice now carries in a big way.
Reid also acknowledges that Mahomes will now be under scrutiny from many fans who exclusively sang his praises before this week. He stands atop the NFL's highest pedestals, and now, some will want to topple it. But Reid wraps up the story by taking another viewpoint on Mahomes, as the figure he is now, after using his platform in this way that he hadn't before:
Bottom line, Mahomes is on another level than other stars, and he wielded every bit of his clout like a sledgehammer to help demolish the league’s wrongheaded public approach toward players who protest.
His name is Patrick Lavon Mahomes II. He’s the best quarterback in the NFL. And by making a stand in the most important video in the league’s history, he became so much more.
To read the full piece, The power of Patrick Mahomes saying 'Black Lives Matter', click here.
