Patrick Mahomes’s brother apologises for dancing on dead NFL star’s memorial

‘We were directed to stand in that area and I meant absolutely no disrespect to him or his family,’ Jackson Mahomes says

Jackson Mahomes, the younger brother of NFL star Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs, has apologised after filming a TikTok in which he danced on the memorial to Sean Taylor, a former Washington, DC football player who was murdered during a burglary in his home in November 2007.

The jersey of Mr Taylor, who was killed 14 years ago, was retired on Sunday and his number, 21, had been painted on the visitor’s side of the field at FedEx Field in Maryland. The Washington Football Team honoured Mr Taylor in a ceremony ahead of the team’s game against Kansas City.

The younger Mr Mahomes filmed the video in the chained off area, during which he made a sexual gesture.

Following harsh criticism of his actions on social media, Mr Mahomes apologised for the TikTok video, which has since been removed from his account but was posted elsewhere.

“I want to sincerely apologise for accidentally being on the Sean Taylor #21 at FedEx Field. We were directed to stand in that area and I meant absolutely no disrespect to him or his family,” he tweeted on 17 October. He later posted another TikTok video of himself dancing in a stadium box, which lead to additional criticism.

Mr Taylor was the fifth pick for the Washington, DC team in the draft of 2004, appearing twice in The Pro Bowl, the NFL’s all-star game. He was best known for his forceful hits on the field. He was 24 years old at the time of his death at his home in Miami, Florida.

CBS Sports writer John Breech wrote that while “it’s easy to see why fans were fired up about Jackson’s actions, the explanation in his apology actually makes some sense. There’s photographic evidence from the game that shows multiple people standing on Taylor’s number and it’s pretty clear they were directed to be standing in that location”.

“At most NFL stadiums, if you have a sideline pass to get on the field before the game, there’s only a small area where you’re allowed to stand and for whatever reason, the spot where Taylor’s number was painted was the area where Washington chose to put fans,” he added.

Jackson Mahomes also came under fire last month when he was filmed throwing water on two Baltimore Ravens fans after he was heckled by a group of the team’s supporters following their win of The Chiefs.

Mr Mahomes later jokingly tweeted that the mocking fans “were thirsty”.