Add former NFL running back Christian Okoye’s name to the growing list of ex-players who are not buying the Taylor Swift-Chiefs distraction narrative.
Okoye, who played for the Chiefs from 1987-92 and was nicknamed “the Nigerian Nightmare,” said in a recent interview with TMZ Sports that the pop megastar is not the catalyst of Kansas City’s ongoing offensive woes amid her months-long romance with star tight end Travis Kelce.
“She has nothing to do with how the team’s doing right now,” Okoye said of the Chiefs, who dropped to 9-6 on Monday following a sloppy Christmas Day loss to the Raiders.
“But you know, when you’re doing bad, people have to find excuses and they have to point fingers, especially those that don’t like the situation about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.”
Though the Swift-Kelce romance has taken much of the NFL by storm following the Grammy winner’s first appearance at Arrowhead Stadium in September, the couple endured backlash from critics this week following her eighth game-day outing, which featured a helmet-tossing meltdown from the two-time Super Bowl champ in the first half of Monday’s contest.
“The Chiefs are not a good football team and Travis Kelce looks like he should retire,” OutKick’s Clay Travis wrote Monday on X.
“He’s been worthless the last seven or eight weeks. The double worthless Pfizer shots may have caught up with him. Either that or Taylor Swift is the Chiefs Yoko Ono. Maybe both.”
Kelce, who is still on pace to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards this season, has only caught five touchdowns this season compared to 12 in 2022.
Okoye suggested critics direct their attention to the field, where the Chiefs’ receivers have struggled to hold on to the ball for much of the year.
“Taylor Swift is not on the field. Travis is playing like he always plays, and teams are just doubling up on him now knowing that our receivers are dropping the balls,” the former running back said.
“… At the beginning of the season, he was catching a lot of balls and then all of the sudden, teams figured out if they can double him up and hold [Chiefs quarterback Patrick] Mahomes in the pocket, everything will be alright for them and that’s what they’re doing.”
Okoye’s comments follow remarks from former NFL running back Merril Hoge, who shut down the distraction chatter surrounding Swift.
“She has nothing to do with where they are right now,” Hoge said.
Swift and Kelce, both 34, have been linked since the summer.
Page Six reported earlier this month that she will spend New Year’s Eve with Kelce in Kansas City, where the Chiefs host the Bengals on Sunday afternoon.
