The rookie explained what it’s like having famous teammates
Much has been made about the impact Taylor Swift has on the Kansas City Chiefs since she started dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
On his show Airing It Out, former NFL player T.J. Houshmandzadeh approached the topic with Kansas City wide receiver Rashee Rice, and the rookie shed light on how she really effects the team.
Kelce and Mahomes need time away from the cameras
“Those guys like Trav, like Pat invite us out because they know that we’re the only guys that see them every day and see them for who they really are,” Rice said in the interview.
“Not like ‘bro, you’re a superstar football player.’ It’s just Pat. It’s just Trav.”
Although Kelce and Mahomes handle the attention very professionally, Rice’s answers gave deep insight into the duality of celebrities’ lives through the wide-eyed lens of a rookie.
NFL players already face the challenge of compartmetalizing who they are as an athlete versus who they are as a person. For the Chiefs two big stars, their image in the media is a third component to balance, and a newer one for Kelce, whose fame has skyrocketed because of his relationship with Swift.
Rice won’t take pictures with Taylor Swift
When asked if he had actually met Taylor Swift, Rice said he had never introduced himself.
“I’ve seen her, but I didn’t go up to her like ‘can I get a picture?'”
Rashee said he wouldn’t want to be in that situation out of respect for his teammates, and Houshmandzadeh quickly agreed that it would be something he would avoid, too.
“Never! I don’t give a damn who it is. Taylor Swift, Beyonce, I’m never doing that,” the former Bengals star joked.