This is the kind of news no quarterback needs.
With a little more than a week before the Feb. 11 Super Bowl LVIII, the father of Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes is generating headlines across the country.
And it has nothing to do with his son’s accomplishments on the field.
According to the celebrity news site TMZ, Patrick Mahomes Sr., 53, was arrested Saturday on a charge of driving while intoxicated — at least his third such arrest.
According to TMZ, the arrest occurred in Tyler, Texas.
Does this surprise you?
Details of Mahomes Sr.’s first arrest were not included in the TMZ report, but the article noted that his second arrest was in 2019. He served 40 days in jail on weekends, according to TMZ.
Given his son’s prominence and the proximity of the Super Bowl, the news of his latest run-in with the law set off a firestorm on social media.
JUST IN: Patrick Mahomes Sr. Arrested in Texas
– Patrick Mahomes Sr. arrested for driving while intoxicated for the third time, as per online booking records.
– The 53-year-old was arrested in Tyler, Texas on Saturday night; bond expected to be set later today.
– Mahomes Sr.… pic.twitter.com/iMALeR8sfh
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 4, 2024
: Patrick Mahomes Sr has been arrested for DUI for a third time, per @TMZ
The 53-year-old father of Patrick Mahomes was arrested last night in Texas, according to online booking records. Bond is reportedly expected to be set later today.
Read More Here:… pic.twitter.com/hIi6Y9RHv6
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) February 4, 2024
Patrick Mahomes’ father, Patrick Mahomes Sr., arrested for DWI 3rd or more in Tyler Texas Saturday night pic.twitter.com/0Q9RifYRDE
— Dallas Texas TV (@DallasTexasTV) February 4, 2024
Mahomes Sr. was a professional athlete himself.
As the New York Post noted, he played 11 seasons in Major League Baseball.
Between 1992 and 2003, according to Baseball-Reference.com, he was a pitcher for the Minnesota Twins, the Boston Red Sox, the New York Mets, the Texas Rangers, the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
This NFL season, the Chiefs have been inundated with publicity about events that have little to do with the team’s playoff-winning performances.
Of course, there’s the never-ending hype surrounding the romance between pop superstar Taylor Swift and tight end Travis Kelce.
And there’s Kelce’s behavior prior to the AFC Championship game Jan. 28, when he tossed a helmet and other equipment being used by Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker.
(The younger Mahomes was part of that, too.)
But the arrest of the father of the team’s probably second-best-known star is bound to make the kind of headlines the Chiefs could do without.