Let’s Talk About Patrick Mahomes
Disclaimer: I know nothing about Patrick Mahome’s faith beyond the fact that he has publicly professed to be a Christian. Is Patrick Mahomes a Christian? Yes, that’s what he professes. But I don’t know what his daily walk with the Lord looks like at any level. Because of that, I must sit in the tension of taking him at his word, but also not over-representing how his faith plays out practically. What follows is less about Mahomes and more about how I am trying to think “Christianly” about what happened in the game against the Bills—and everything that happened after.
“It looks like Toney is lining up offside.”
One of my son’s fondest memories to date is me waking him up and rushing him downstairs to watch the wild last few minutes of the Chiefs and Bills playoff game from the 2021 season. Since then, we’ve made a small tradition of watching whenever these two teams play.
Though I was a little surprised to see the flag in the corner of the screen as the play progressed, I understand why it was thrown. if I was able to point it out to Hudson pre-snap, surely everyone else saw the same thing.
But this isn’t about my tradition with Hudson or my ability to predict penalties (though as a Lions fan, I’ve gotten pretty good at it over the years).
This is about Patrick Mahomes and his response to what happened during the game.
What Happened During The Game?
If you don’t follow football, let me catch you up to speed on what happened.
With just under two minutes left in the game, the Chiefs were down three points and driving to take the lead. Mahomes threw a pass to Travis Kelce (the dude dating Taylor Swift). Kelce ran a few steps and then threw the ball backward, halfway across the field, to Chiefs wide receiver Kadarius Toney. Toney caught the ball and sprinted in for the touchdown. Chiefs lead.
It was one of those plays that they would show on commercials and promos for the next decade. But the play was called back because Toney was lined up a few inches offside. Mahomes was irate and spent the remainder of the game—and post-game—yelling at the officials. While he usually plays with passion, his posture towards the refs is often charitable. As analysts pointed out after the game, this was out of character for him. It was not a good look for him or the league.
For Mahomes, a professing Christian, it was one of those moments where actions and words did not align with his faith. And while many in the media continue to debate whether the flag should’ve been thrown and others share that Mahomes has lost their respect, his apology deserves just as much of our attention. Here is what he recently said about his actions after the game:
"Obviously, you don't want to react that way. I mean, I care, man. I love it. I love this game, I love my teammates and I want to go out there and put everything on the line to win. But obviously, you can't do that. You can't be that way towards officials or really anybody in life. I probably regret acting like that but more than anything, I regret the way I acted towards Josh after the game because he had nothing to do with it. I was still hot and emotional, but you can't do that, man. It's not a great example for kids watching the game. I was more upset about that than I was about me on the sideline."
We can debate whether that was an apology or just a statement of regret. I think it can be both. Let’s get this out of the way: Mahomes should not have acted the way he did. He knows it. He acknowledged it, apologized and will move on. But can we?
We better.
Taking the posture of “A real Christian would not/should not do that or he is such a hypocrite” becomes a dangerous position to hold, evidencing a failure of perspective on multiple levels.
A failure to recognize that athletes are human and prone to mistakes
Romans 3:23 is pretty clear when it says “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Athletes fall under the category of “all” too. We can be hopeful that the Christian athletes we cheer for will refrain from sin and strive toward obedience. We can even be disappointed when they fall short. But to have a heart of anger that self-righteously screams (or even whispers) “Some Christian he is” shows a misunderstanding of our human nature. We all fall short. At that moment, he just had a camera on him so the whole world could witness it.
A failure to recognize that nobody ever perfectly lives out their worldview—Christians included
Let’s be very careful when we call Mahomes—or any other Christian for that matter—a hypocrite. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word hypocrite as a person who claims or pretends to have certain beliefs about what is right but who behaves in a way that disagrees with those beliefs. A hypocrite is someone who consistently says one thing and does something different. We have culturally whittled down the meaning to represent anyone who ever does something inconsistent with their belief system. One strike and you’re out.
With that definition, which one of us does not struggle with hypocrisy?
The Apostle Paul documents his wrestle with it in Romans 7:15-24:
“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”
I once heard a pastor give an outstanding defense for Christians being called out as hypocrites. He said, “You’re absolutely right. We are hypocrites. Especially me. But thank God for the Gospel of Jesus Christ that offers us forgiveness when I don’t live up to his standards!”
A failure to understand the realities of sport
Athletes ride the roller coaster of emotion every time they compete. Aside from dealing with their opponent, they also have to manage the crowd, referees, and their own mistakes. On top of all that, for athletes like Mahomes, everything they say and do is caught on camera and recorded by microphones.
How would we do if the camera was on us?
If you are a builder, how do you respond when you slam a hammer down on your finger or you realize that the wall you just built is not square? What if you are a financial advisor and the stock market sees a significant dip? Or a doctor whose patient decides to ignore your instructions? How about just a homeowner who deals with the reality of flooded basements, the need for new shingles, leaky faucets, or a broken AC unit?
How do you respond when things go poorly in your life? What if there was a camera fixated on you, just waiting to catch your frustrated response?
Last night my family was in the car and the topic of language came up. “Dad, I’ve heard you swear at least six times,” Hudson decided to share loud enough for the entire family to hear. “Well.” I struggled to justify myself in front of my wife and kids. “I do, but it only happens when I am working in the yard and hurt myself. Or on the basketball court and twist my ankle. I only do it when something unexpected happens. It’s not a normal part of my everyday language.”
Here’s the bottom line: if a camera followed me around at my most vulnerable moments, you wouldn’t be reading anything I write at the intersection of faith and sports. I fall short of my own standards daily.
The elevated tension that sports provide creates an environment where athletes feel the weight of the world on their shoulders. When things go wrong or there is a perceived injustice, it’s easy to respond in ways that are contrary to what we value in the Christian faith. I’m not excusing it, I’m just saying it’s really hard to act Christianly in a high-stakes environment where things don’t go in your favor.
A failure to celebrate the fact that he showed remorse
In Luke 15, Jesus tells the story of the prodigal son. The guy who takes his father’s money way too early and goes off to spend it all in another land. He finally comes to his senses and realizes he made a huge mistake. On his way home, he rehearses how he is going to apologize to his father. Dad sees him in the distance and sprints towards him. Before the son can even give his rehearsed lines the father starts calling everyone in the house to throw a party: “My boy is back!”
The older brother is ticked. Why should this bum get a party thrown for him? He screwed up!
The older brother fails to celebrate with the rest of the family, choosing to live in bitterness.
Did Mahomes mess up? Yes. But his presser the following day was him coming back home to the reality that he screwed up. He didn’t double down on his mistakes. He regretted them and owned them.
It’s easy to play the part of the older brother in this situation. I often gravitate towards that posture. But when athletes mess up and own up to it, let’s make sure we join the party and celebrate with the Father.
A failure to recognize that the foundation of the Christian faith is not perfection, but forgiveness
A Christian fan having a posture of anger or self-righteousness towards Mahomes is tragic—especially after he admitted his mistakes. Can you see the irony? Our entire faith system as Christ-followers is built upon the idea of forgiveness. Why is it so difficult to find when human situations call for it—especially among Christians?
Mahomes did not sin against you or me, so we do not need to extend forgiveness towards him. But we do need to understand that his sin does not make him any less of a Christian. In fact, the whole incident shows he has a Biblical understanding of exactly what it means to follow Christ! If you read that and think to yourself “Yeah, or someone forced him to say what he said” I would again encourage us to not take an “older brother” posture that “yeah-buts” everything.
In a culture where Christian athletes are often celebrated for appearing morally excellent—and rightfully so!—I applaud Mahomes for giving us a picture of what Christianity is about: Falling short, repenting, and moving forward with a clean slate.
I stand with Mahomes as a Christian. Not perfect by any means—just forgiven.
