Buffalo Bills fans have come under fire for one of the ways they tried to taunt Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
One group of fans hung a Kermit the Frog doll from a pole above lots where Buffalo’s fans were tailgating with Mahomes’ No 15 Chiefs jersey and his haircut.
To hold the doll in place, a rope is place around Kermit’s neck.
The choice of Kermit appears to be made because of what feel is the resemblance between Mahomes’ speaking voice and that of the iconic Muppets character.
Some NFL fans have pointed out the implied racism of the gesture due to Mahomes’ race with some suggesting it was reminiscent of the lynching of black people in American history.
Mahomes himself or the Chiefs have not commented on the controversial move by Bills’ fans.
Buffalo Bills fans have come under fire for hanging a Chiefs’ Kermit the Frog doll on Sunday
Mahomes speaking voice has drawn a few comparisons to Kermit the Frog in the past
‘That’s absolutely disgusting,’ one fan posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, in response to a photo of the puppet being strung up.
‘Bills fans are worst in the NFL! This is disgusting!,’ another echoed.
‘lynching something that’s supposed to represent Patrick mahomes is kinda crazy,’ a third slammed.
‘Racism will never die smh [shaking my head].’ another chimed in.
Meanwhile, a rival fan added: ‘As a Broncos fan, even I think that’s a bit extreme.’
The Bills defeated the Chiefs 30-21 on Sunday in Kansas City’s first loss since last December.
The win also put the Bills a half-game behind the Chiefs for the No 1 seed in the AFC.
There has been a long-standing rivalry between the Chiefs and Bills, with Mahomes and Kansas City eliminating Buffalo from the playoffs three of the last four years.
Many NFL fans were left disgusted on social media, branding the move racist
Yet, when the teams play in the regular season, the Bills have had the recent upper hand, winning the last three matchups, dating back to before the first of the three Chiefs Super Bowl victories in the last five seasons.
This is not the first controversial incident to involve Bills fans this year.
Two weeks ago, a Bills fan got in trouble with stadium security for wearing and then refusing to take off a Donald Trump shirt, which is against stadium policy.
Meanwhile, the Bills aren’t the only fanbase to use Kermit to taunt the quarterback.
The Raiders after they mocked the three-time Super Bowl MPV during preseason camp with a Kermit the Frog reference.
During training camp, Raider safety Trey Taylor was filmed holding a Kermit puppet, dressed in a Mahomes jersey with a curly wig attached to its head. The rest of the team could be heard in the background, imitating the Muppets character’s voice – which often gets likened to Mahomes’.
‘Stuff like that happens,’ Mahomes said soon afterward. ‘It’ll get handled when it gets handled.’
And he did get it handled when he enacted revenge on the Raiders in a 27-20 win over Las Vegas in October.
