The Texans and Chiefs joined arms and stood in the middle of the field for a “Moment of Unity,” prior to their season opening game on Thursday night.
Though, while the mood may have been warm and fuzzy on the field, the reaction from fans in the stands was anything but. The Chiefs were first in line since the Texans had gone to the locker room for the national anthem and the “black national anthem.” However, as the Texans began to join arms with the Chiefs, the boos began to rain down on the players.
While no one can be sure, it’s entirely possible that a large number of Chiefs fans were not booing the “Moment of Unity” per se. But were instead specifically booing the Texans for having retreated into the locker room for the pregame ceremony and, just for being the opposing team. Or, because they’re sick of having politics intermingled with their sports.
Still, that plausible explanation did not prevent liberals on Twitter from lashing out at the fans for being “classless trash,” among other things.
Some saw the booing as hypocritical.
Some at ESPN just got downright mean about it.
Saints safety, NFL Players Coalition President, and CNN contributor Malcolm Jenkins, went on the air to say the things one would expect a CNN guest to say. Mainly, that it was somehow hypocritical for fans to cheer players when doing their job of playing football. Yet wrong for them to boo when the players use their sports platform for things that have nothing to do with sports.
Jenkins wasn’t the only one who stuck to his usual script.
Then there was whatever this is.
Senate Republican Josh Hawley of Missouri responded to the spate of hate directed at fans in his home state, and proposed that the booing was a response to corporate social justice activism.
It’s still my contention that the boos were for the Texans and the Texans alone. Though, it’s also entirely possible that people were booing for multiple reasons. The NFL certainly gave fans enough to boo about during an hour long pregame show that featured multiple social justice songs from Alicia Keyes and other woke messaging.
Bottom line, it’s probably impossible to determine just one reason why NFL fans would boo. Primarily, because the NFL gives them so many reasons to do it.