Throughout their run to a potential Super Bowl three-peat, a narrative has persisted that the Kansas City Chiefs have benefitted from friendly officiating.
Such commentary has ranged from mere observations to outright conspiracy theories.
In any event, Mitch Holthus has heard enough.
Taking to X on Tuesday night, the Chiefs’ longtime radio voice took issue with what he called a “false narrative” regarding referees aiding Kansas City’s ongoing dynasty. In a post tagging the Chiefs’ official X account, the NFL Network’s Peter Schrager, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky and team reporter Matt McMullen, Holthus pointed out that Kansas City ranked 17th in the league in percentage of drives aided by a penalty for a first down during the regular season, while the team that ranked first in the same category happens to be the one the Chiefs just beat in the AFC Championship Game: the Buffalo Bills.
It’s unclear why Holthus opted to specifically single out Schrager and Orlovsky, neither of whom have been outspoken regarding the narrative that he was pushing back on. While it’s possible — and perhaps likely — that the 67-year-old was mentioning two high profile media members he thought could help amplify his message, Orlovsky clearly didn’t take it that way, questioning why he was included in the post.
“I dunno why you’re tagging me I’ve never talked about the whole penalty thing,” the ESPN analyst replied.
Schrager, meanwhile, has yet to respond to the post publicly.
While many Chiefs fans were quick to point out that Orlovsky had, in fact, criticized the fourth down spot that resulted in the Bills turning the ball over on downs early in the fourth quarter, setting Kansas City up for a go-ahead drive on Sunday, there’s a big difference between disagreeing with an objectively controversial call and outright touting a conspiracy theory. Orlovsky wasn’t pushing a narrative; he was merely reacting to what he felt was a bad call that happened to benefit the Chiefs.
Ultimately, it’s understandable that Chiefs fans — and especially team employees — would be sensitive to any suggestion that the team’s dynasty has been assisted by the officials. But the reality is that such allegations come with the territory of winning as often as Kansas City has the last five years, as the increased the exposure only affords more opportunities for criticism.
Just ask Tom Brady.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.