Skip Bayless hurled accusations of rigging at the NFL, blaming Taylor Swift and her followers for the alleged intervention.
The Kansas City Chiefs punched their ticket to the AFC Championship game for a seventh straight year with a 24-13 divisional win over the Houston Texans Saturday.
However, while the Chiefs kept their Super Bowl three-peat hopes alive, fans on social media were left livid with a number of controversial calls that went in the reigning champions’ favor.
And former Fox Sports analyst Bayless shared their fury as he appeared to suggest the game was rigged in order for the NFL to continue profiting from the Taylor Swift effect.
‘Ballgame. CONGRATS, NFL. YOU MADE SURE MAHOMES SURVIVED. THE SWIFTIES WILL BE BACK IN FULL FORCE FOR THE AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME. YOU GAVE MAHOMES THE REFEREE SUPPORT HE NEEDED,’ Bayless aggressively posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.
Swift has been credited with attracting a new demographic – primarily young women – to the NFL since she began dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce in 2023.
Since making their love story public just over 18 months ago, the NFL has benefitted from a rise in viewership.
Last season’s Super Bowl, which saw the Chiefs defeat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in a gripping overtime win, averaged 123.4million viewers.
And the pop sensation was cheering on her NFL beau from a luxury suite in Arrowhead Stadium once again Saturday evening.
The songstress was spotted wildly celebrating with WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark after Kelce reeled in a touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes.
The singer and the Indiana Fever star were filmed hugging and high-fiving in celebration in their suite and while it was a tense game at times in Kansas City.
But Bayless also took issue with the joyful scenes as he scolded the basketball phenom for sharing a suite with Swift.
‘WAIT, CAITLIN CLARK IS UP IN THE ARROWHEAD BOX WITH TAYLOR SWIFT???’ Bayless wrote on X, attempting to bolster his argument with the help of the caps lock. ‘CAITLIN, YOU DON’T NEED TO BE SEEN WITH HER. YOU’RE BIGGER THAN SHE IS.’
It’s unclear why Bayless thinks Clark is ‘bigger’ than the world-famous pop star, but in any case, he continued in all caps for his final five words of advice: ‘STAY ON YOUR OWN PATH.’
Clark’s presence in the VIP suite at Arrowhead Stadium should hardly have come as a surprise.
Not only is she a lifelong Chiefs fan, but the Fever guard was recently a guest on New Heights, the popular podcast hosted by Kelce and his brother Jason.
Meanwhile, it was Swift’s first Chiefs game for almost a month. Her most recent appearance was on December 21 when Kelce and his teammates beat the Houston Texans, who they play on Saturday.
Earlier in the evening an excited Swift was filmed pumping up a group of Chiefs fans as she marched into Arrowhead, telling them as she made her way to her luxury suite: ‘How’s it going? You guys are here early.’ She then clapped her hands together before adding: ‘I love it’.
DailyMail.com exclusively pictured Swift and her family leaving her New York City apartment early on Saturday to make the trip.
She was then filmed arriving at the stadium with her parents, Scott and Andrea, and brother Austin. They even beat Kelce to the stadium with the tight end arriving just after.
