Thoughts on Tyrann Mathieu, Anthony Hitchens and the Social Media Controversy This Week in Chiefs Kingdom

It’ll be interesting to see how the Monday Night Football crew handles talking about the Chiefs’ social media controversy this week. 

How much do they discuss what Anthony Hitchens and Tyrann Mathieu posted? 

If you don’t know what I’m talking about - here’s a shortened version: Mathieu and Hitchens seemingly called out Chiefs fans on social media over the weekend for being too negative about the team’s poor start, and then Mathieu apologized for it during a media session - saying his frustrations got the best of him and he shouldn’t have used the word “toxic,” basically, to describe Chiefs Kingdom.

All of that is true, but it’s also just the kind of buzz word that’ll probably stick around, unfortunately. The toothpaste can’t go back in - as I tell my kids in about every scenario I can. Hopefully I’m wrong, but I expect to see “toxic” for a long time. 

Whatever. 

There are people who stake a lot of their personal happiness on the ability to manifest credit of these players and teams’ successes, and when they can’t do that - they lash out. It can lead to problems because people are prideful and emotional in general, and when you add in expectations - you’ve got a real recipe for trouble. 

The only thing really surprising about any of this to me is that it was Anthony Hitchens who started everything - posting on Instagram - in more colorful language - that the team deserves more grace after hosting three-straight AFC title games and going to two Super Bowls (with one win), and in that regard - I agree with him. 

They do deserve better. I mean - on the field, the team is 3-4 and despite some truly awful play on both sides of the ball at different times, are still in the middle of the AFC playoff picture. They also have 10 games left. 

Off the field - haven’t we seen enough of Mathieu in the community - hanging out at different baseball parks with his family and giving his time to anyone who recognizes him for a picture and a quick chat, which in South Kansas City - is everyone, than to question his intent? 

Sure, he claps back at people on Twitter. But what about anything that’s actually real? We all say things.

I think he’s earned the benefit of the doubt in the 2.5 years he and his family have been here. We know who he is. We shouldn’t cherry-pick our moments to praise what he’s about. He has an edge to him when it comes to the game. We celebrate it.

It’s not surprising that it was Hitchens than for any other reason than that I’ve had dozens of conversations with the man and have been around him in a number of settings - both public and private, and I would have named 25 players I thought would have done this before him.

Now, Hitchens has never received 1/2 the respect outside the locker room that he’s always had inside it, so maybe it was just time someone said something and he was the guy to do it, but still, he never came across as a guy who would go at fans like this.  

In any case, this couldn’t “fracture” the locker room. If anything, it could give them a little something to rally behind. We might be Herb Brooks in this scenario, and that’s fine - winning tends to cure everything anyways. 

But championship teams all tend to have one thing in common - they wholeheartedly believe they’re all one unit working towards the same goal. They don’t point fingers within their own circle on who’s to blame for each mini failure on the journey to a bigger goal. How would that help them? 

I’ve seen it at every level. The characteristics were always the same. 

• 1998 Blue Valley HS state championship (Sophomore year, I was the punter!)

• 2001 AAU National Championship (Starting pitcher, KC Monarchs)

• 2003 D2 National Champions - U. of Central Missouri (Freshman relief pitcher) 

• 2020 Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl champions (team/sideline reporter)

I wasn’t a top player on any of these teams and obviously didn’t do anything to help win a Super Bowl, but I’ve been around great leaders on four championship teams at every level and I’ve seen how they respond in tough moments. It’s NEVER been about negativity, pointing fingers, or divisive language or actions.

So, when fans, media or whoever try and poke at the bond between Mathieu and Daniel Sorensen because Mathieu threw his hands up in the air after a few really bad plays, and those moments were frozen on camera - how do YOU think he’s gonna respond? He’s going to get mad. It was a prop being used to make a fake point.

I don’t think those pictures were/are indicative of their relationship, and they were being used as such. A few bad plays won’t change all the real time they’ve spent together, and if you think a couple of bad plays will flip one teammate on another, I’d question how many championship teams you’ve ever been around. If that talk starts happening, then it’s over anyways. 

Avoiding that kind of divisive rhetoric matters to people who win things, so don’t be surprised when they tighten their circle and lash out at anyone who tries to threaten it. It’s kind of the point of having a team full of people who support one other.