Ex-NFL player Merril Hoge has shot down suggestions Taylor Swift has anything to do with the alarming dip in form the Kansas City Chiefs are currently enduring.
The Chiefs lost to the Raiders on Christmas Day, sparking comments from the likes of Undisputed Host Skip Bayless and OutKick founder Clay Travis that the singer’s presence at games to cheer boyfriend Travis Kelce was a distraction for the team.
It is an alarming run of form for the Chiefs, who have now lost five of their last eight games but Hoge – ironically speaking on Travis’s OutKick – slammed claims it has anything to do with the singer.
Speaking to Dan Dakich, Hoge said of Kelce and Swift’s relationship: ‘I can sum that up pretty – it’s irrelevant.
‘It’s irrelevant. That’s a media twist. It just tells you how weak and stupid media is and people are.
Travis Kelce and the Chiefs lost on Christmas Day at home against Las Vegas Raiders
Some analysts claimed Taylor Swift’s attendance is causing distractions for the team
@outkick Would Travis Kelce dating Taylor Swift have any impact on the Kansas City Chiefs locker room? #outkick #dandakich #taylorswift #swift #swiftok #kansascitychiefs #chiefs #kcchiefs #traviskelce #nflfootball #football #footballtiktok #nfl #nfltiktok ♬ original sound – OutKick Sports
‘It has nothing to do with a locker room, they’ve never been in a locker room and clearly don’t understand the National Football League and the dynamics of wining on Sundays – when you win, when you lose and the struggles that exist.
‘Somebody who sings songs has zero to do with it. Taylor Swift, listen, I know Taylor and her Dad very well – Scott Swift, it’s a super family, I love that family. I love them because they are a family.
‘Her greatness, her brilliance – it would be like her not having a successful album and people saying that Travis Kelce is because she didn’t have a successful album.
‘People would be like “what are you talking about?”. It has nothing to do with it. She has nothing to do with where they are right now.’
OutKick founder Travis compared Swift to Yoko Ono on X, writing: ‘The Chiefs are not a good football team and Travis Kelce looks like he should retire.
‘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.’
Swift is expected to return to Arrowhead Stadium on New Year’s Eve for the next Chiefs game against Cincinnati Bengals.
After that Kansas City – last year’s Super Bowl winners – round out the season with a road game against the Chargers before the playoffs begin.
Hoge played in the NFL from 1987 until 1994 for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears as a running back.