Pat Mahomes, John Rocker. Getty Images (2)
Those hoping to see Patrick Mahomes Sr. and John Rocker go head-to-head, prepare to be disappointed — the fight has officially been canceled, and Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy claims Brittany Mahomes is partially to blame.
The initial plan was for the two former MLB relief pitchers to participate in one of Barstool’s Rough N’ Rowdy fights, scheduled for April 18. However, according to Portney, Brittany — wife of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes II — quashed the idea.
“Mahomes’ agent, the football player, and Brittany — from what I am told — intervened and were like, ‘There’s no way this fight’s happening,’” Portnoy, 47, said during a Friday, February 21, appearance on “The Unnamed Show” podcast. “’We’re going to cut this guy off if he does it.’”
Mahomes Sr., 54, and Rocker, 50, made news in the hours after the Super Bowl in New Orleans, where the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Chiefs. The two were recorded having a heated argument on Bourbon Street, trading insults as a couple onlookers tried to separate them.
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The elder Mahomes, who pitched 11 seasons in the Major Leagues, is currently on probation and told a court that the squabble was staged to boost publicity for the fight, according to TMZ. Had it been real, he would have been in violation of his probation.
The outlet also reported that Mahomes Sr. was due to make $85,000 in the fight, with the possibility of more based on pay-per-view numbers.
David Portnoy. Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for SiriusXM
After their tiff on Bourbon Street, Rocker and Mahomes continued their feud via X.
“You really haven’t changed one bit in the last 25 years,” Mahomes Sr. posted on February 11. “Keep my name out your loud mouth.”
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“You wouldn’t have had the balls to say that to my face the other night. Lanky ass clown,” Rocker replied in a quote, adding in separate post, “Mahomes is lucky he got away. I would have Rocked him.”
While their fight in New Orleans was staged, the hate between the two is apparently real.
“They came to us to do this,” Portnoy said of the showdown. “How would we ever come up with this concept. Like, Oh, let’s put John Rocker vs. Pat Mahomes Sr. Like, who would ever think of that?”
He added, “They came to us and said they hated each other and wanted to fight.”
The rivalry between Mahomes Sr. and Rocker goes back decades. Mahomes Sr. pitched for the New York Mets in 1999 and 2000 while Rocker was with the Atlanta Braves. The Mets and Braves were heated rivals at the time, with Rocker going on an infamous racist and homophobic rant in a 2000 interview with Sports Illustrated about the people of New York.
Neither pitcher has publicly addressed the fight’s cancellation.
