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The Kansas City Chiefs are just one win away from making NFL history. If the Chiefs win Super Bowl 59 on Sunday, they will complete their quest for the first three-peat in the NFL history. Kansas City is already bracing for the fact that NFL fans will likely call another Chiefs Super Bowl victory “rigged” by the referees.
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt pushed back on the conspiracy theory that referees are helping his team win games. Hunt did not hold back when talking with Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero on The Insiders.
“There’s definitely no conspiracy, right? It’s the nature of the game,” Hunt said on Monday. “And when you start having a lot of success, people like to start making excuses for why you’re having the success.”
Many NFL fans talk about the narrative that referees always lean towards Kansas City, giving them the benefit of the doubt on crucial penalties. However, this simply is not true. The Chiefs do not benefit more than other NFL teams in terms of penalties.
Some variations on the theory target Patrick Mahomes specifically, who also does not benefit from more penalties than normal.
Ultimately, the Chiefs have been better than any NFL team at avoiding turnovers and forcing their opponent to make mistakes. That, paired with an elite quarterback and all-time great coach, is certainly a winning formula.
Naturally, the Chiefs are not going to take these accusations about rigged games without fighting back. That is especially true for Chief tight end Travis Kelce.
Not only did Kelce push back on this theory, he turned the pressure back onto reporters. Kelce directly questioned reporters during an interview on Monday about why they are continuing to feed the conspiracy theory narrative.
“If I could ask the media one question. Uhm, why are you guys leaning into this whole ref thing?” Kelce said on Monday. “You know what I mean. Why are you guys leaning into it?”
Of course, the likely answer for why the media is focused on the narrative is to get more clicks. That said, Kelce is right to point out that this directly feeds into the conspiracy narrative appearing more legitimate.
Kelce also had a little fun with the media on Monday. He joked that he did not know that many NFL fans despise the Chiefs for being so successful.
“People hate the Chiefs? I didn’t know that,” Kelce joked, via Henry McKenna of FOX Sports.
That feeling will only increase if the Chiefs become Super Bowl champions for the third year in a row.
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