Jackson Mahomes, the brother of Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, apologized Sunday for dancing on the patch of sideline dedicated to late Washington Football Team safety Sean Taylor at FedEx Field.
Jackson Mahomes filmed a TikTok video of himself dancing before the game on top of the No. 21 memorial logo dedicated to Taylor, who was killed at his home during a robbery attempt in November 2007.
Washington honored Taylor prior to its loss to the Chiefs and retired his No. 21 jersey at halftime.
In the video, the sideline memorial was roped off.
“I want to sincerely apologize for accidentally being on the Sean Taylor #21 at FedEx Field,” Mahomes tweeted. “We were directed to stand in that area and I meant absolutely no disrespect to him or his family.”
The incident sparked outrage on social media — with one fan writing: “This is disgraceful.”
Jackson Mahomes was seen here dancing on the Sean Taylor “21” logo which was chained off to begin with.
— 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝 🥷 (@BannedKidd) October 17, 2021
This should infuriate everyone, this is disgraceful. pic.twitter.com/7puweqqOuM
“I meant absolutely no disrespect” pic.twitter.com/QsrEIy9UZa
— 𝕵𝖆𝖒𝖊𝖘 (@DCWarriors_) October 18, 2021
You were directed to stand in an area that was roped off ?? pic.twitter.com/pziBWNtRUr
— Nick ✊ (@MileHigh_Nick) October 18, 2021
Mahomes, it appears, wasn’t the only person to stand on the memorial. A number of other fans were seen standing on it, as well.
Case Closed.
— Chad Ryan (@ChadwikoTWW) October 17, 2021
Jackson Mahomes danced on the Sean Taylor #21 sideline tribute for TikTok.
Bigger question probably needs to be why anyone was allowed to stand on it to begin with.
Not good enough @FedExField pic.twitter.com/qNY8GnL1gf
Taylor’s retirement ceremony was not without controversy. The team apologized after giving just days’ notice that the tribute was happening.
The apology came amid a number of other scandals involving the Burgundy and Gold — including Jon Gruden’s leaked emails uncovered in the NFL investigation into Washington’s workplace. Gruden resigned last Monday and on Thursday, the team announced it was retiring Taylor’s jersey at Sunday’s game.
Washington said the plan to retire the jersey had been in the works for months, inviting Taylor’s family and alumni to attend. Members of Taylor’s family were in attendance for Sunday’s loss.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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