Drue Tranquill, Dave Portnoy. Getty Images(2)
Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Drue Tranquill wasn’t going to let an AFC Championship party distract him from defending his squad on social media.
Shortly after Tranquill, 29, and the Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills in the AFC title game at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday, January 26, Tranquill picked up his phone and responded to Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who had criticized Sunday’s officials for a controversial call early in the game’s fourth quarter.
After the referees deemed Bills quarterback Josh Allen did not earn a first down on a frenetic 4th-and-1, which turned the ball over to the Chiefs, Portnoy, 47, posted via X: “Again how the hell is the ref staring at Josh Allen’s back the one who over rules the ref staring at the ball and who had the right spot?”
Portnoy concluded his post by writing, “#nflrigged,” a clear statement that he believed the AFC Championship was deliberately awarded to the Chiefs.
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Mere minutes after stepping off the field, Tranquill issued his strong response.
“Should have taken your $1M from #TrumpCoin and taken a nice vacation. He didn’t get it & you know it. #GoChiefs,” Tranquill wrote via X, referencing Portnoy’s claim on January 19 that he bought and sold one of President Donald Trump’s controversial cryptocurrency meme coins for one million dollars.
In a separate post via X, Tranquill addressed the other football fans who agreed with Portnoy’s point of view.
“Shoutout to the @BuffaloBills .. heck of a battle,” Tranquill wrote. “The rest of y’all can take all that ‘ref; talk & kick rocks. We stand on business‼️”
The belief that the Chiefs have been the benefactors of complimentary officiating also reared its head in the AFC Championship game’s second quarter, when Travis Kelce was accused of dramatically selling a penalty call after taunting Bills safety Damar Hamlin.
After Kelce, 35, got in the face of Hamlin, 26, for tackling Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes to the ground following a Mahomes’ rushing touchdown, Bills defensive tackle Jordan Phillips approached Kelce in the end zone and knocked Kelce in the head with his helmet.
“Travis Kelce knows how to get under your skin,” CBS analyst Tony Romo said on the broadcast. “And then Phillips comes in. [Kelce] tries for the flop.”
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Kelce could be seen jerking his head back after Phillips, 32, came in contact with him, which resulted in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against the Bills lineman. Meanwhile, Kelce was not penalized following the altercation.
The noise surrounding the officiating got so loud before the AFC Championship game that Mahomes, 29, was forced to address the building narrative.
“I‘ve kind of learned that no matter what happens during the game, that something’s going to come out about it if you win and you continue to win, so I don’t really pay attention to it,” Mahomes said during an interview with 96.5 The Fan on Tuesday, January 21. “I mean, obviously I’ve been on both sides of it as far as how I felt the calls were made, but at the end of the day, man, those guys are doing their best to make the best calls and keep it to where the players are making the plays in the game. And that’s what decides the outcome.”
With the Chiefs’ victory over the Bills, they advanced to Super Bowl LIX against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, February 9, as Kansas City attempts to become the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowls.
