Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes did not test positive for drugs following his team’s victory at the Super Bowl, contrary to claims online. A spokesperson for the NFL said the rumors were “absolutely false.”
A viral tweet (here), which has also been posted on Instagram (here), reads: “#BREAKING: Chiefs Super Bowl legitimacy put on hold as NFL plans to launch an investigation on possible PED use by Patrick Mahomes during halftime. Sources confirm his rapid postgame drug test came back POSITIVE and if guilty the Chiefs could be stripped of the win.”
It was posted by a Twitter user with the name Simon Charles and the handle @S_CharlesNFL (twitter.com/S_CharlesNFL). The account is not labelled as parody but its bio, “Esteemed sports journalist & Patriots Beat Writer Double PHD in Journalism & Female Anatomy,” suggests it posts satirically.
A reverse image search revealed the user’s profile picture is actually a stock photo (here). It also has a Boston Globe logo as a cover image, although there is no record of a “Simon Charles” on the newspaper’s website (here).
Chief NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Reuters via email these claims are “absolutely false”.
He said that, under the NFL-NFLPA performance-enhancing substances policy, five players on each team were tested after being randomly chosen. “Patrick was not one of the Chiefs selected,” McCarthy said.
No credible news outlets have reported that Mahomes tested positive for drugs (bit.ly/3IqLFt3).
Reuters reported on Feb. 12 that the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35 to win their third Super Bowl championship in franchise history (here).