Philadelphia Eagles fans are known for their passionate and sometimes unruly behavior, but this year’s Super Bowl celebrations may have crossed a line as they hang a Kermit the Frog, seemingly referencing Patrick Mahomes.
As the City of Brotherly Love erupted in festivities following the 40-22 win against the Kansas City Chiefs, some members of the fan base targeted Mahomes with taunts that many are now calling racist.
Ahead of the Super Bowl parade, Eagles fans wasted no time taking shots at Mahomes. A viral image shared by Eagles reporter Eliot Shorr-Parks showed a whole pig roasted with the number 15, which is Mahomes‘ jersey number, carved into its side.
To add another layer of mockery, a wig resembling the quarterback’s signature curly hair was placed on the pig. While this was widely seen as a playful jab, what followed took a much darker turn.
In a separate incident, fans displayed a Kermit the Frog puppet, dressed in Mahomes‘ jersey with a curly-haired wig in an apparent nod to the frequent comparisons between Mahomes‘ voice and the Muppet character.
However, the puppet was seen hanging from a noose, which many critics condemned as racially charged considering the historic lynching of African Americans by racists through the 1900s.
One social media user voiced their outrage on X.com, formerly Twitter, by stating: “Not a Chiefs fan, but lynching a doll that’s supposed to represent a Black man will always be deeply racist.”
Two shot during Eagles celebrations
Beyond the controversial imagery, the parade took an even more concerning turn when two people were shot during the Eagles celebrations in story echoing the Chiefs‘ celebrations from the start of 2024.
Philadelphia police confirmed that the victims were a 27-year-old Hispanic woman, who sustained a gunshot wound to her left leg, and a 20-year-old Asian woman, who was shot in the upper left thigh.
Fortunately, both victims were reported to be in stable condition but as of now, authorities have not recovered a weapon, and no arrests have been made in connection with the shooting.
