Former Kansas City Chiefs player Christian Okoye has Taylor Swift’s back.
Okoye, 62, shared his thoughts on chatter that Travis Kelce’s relationship with Swift, 34, is affecting how he’s playing this season. “She has nothing to do with how the team’s doing right now,” he told TMZ Sports on Sunday, December 31. “Taylor Swift is not on the field. Travis is playing like he always plays. … Teams are just doubling up on him now knowing that our receivers are dropping the balls.”
Okoye, who was the team’s running back from 1987 to 1992, noted, “When you’re doing bad, people have to find excuses and they have to point fingers. Especially those who don’t like the situation about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.”
Although some fans have unfairly blamed the tight end’s relationship with Swift for the Chiefs’ six losses this season, Okoye believes they are “wrong” and that the real reason is other teams “figured out if they can double him up and hold [Patrick] Mahomes in the pocket, everything will be all right for them. And that’s what they’re doing.”
Earlier this season, the narrative was actually that Swift was having a positive impact on Kelce. According to a CBS graphic shared in October, Kelce averaged 99 yards per game versus 46.5 at the games she did not attend.
Later that month, Travis commented on the stats during a podcast episode of “New Heights,” which he cohosts with brother Jason Kelce.
“It’s kind of hard for me to wrap my head around that sentence,” Travis told his brother after Jason, 36, read the stats to him.
Jason pointed out that Travis’ coach, Andy Reid, is in favor of Swift attending his games. “He was asked [during a press conference] about your big game and his response was, ‘Kelce keeps getting better with time, Taylor can stay around all she wants,’” Jason said.
Travis gushed, “Listen, when you’re getting Big Red’s approval and blessings, you know you’re doing something right.”
Regardless, Swift doesn’t appear to be changing her plans to cheer for Travis. After spending Christmas Day at Arrowhead Stadium with her family, she attended their victory against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, December 31. For the event, she rocked a Chiefs jacket featuring leather sleeves and multiple patches representing the team’s logo.
After the game, the couple celebrated New Year’s Eve together with Patrick, 28, and his wife, Brittany Mahomes. During the evening, the group wrapped their arms around each other and posed in a photo together. Both Swift and Brittany, 28, donned sparkly outfits for the evening while their men opted for more casual looks.
Travis, for his part, wore a brown corduroy jacket and matching pants while Patrick rocked a checkered shirt and backward cap.
