“‘Classless trash’? The left showing their usual contempt for middle America. Missouri has the best fans in the country. Don’t blame them for being tired of NFL/corporate woke politics jammed down their throats,” Hawley wrote in a tweet, including an article from Rawstory.com.
Hawley’s tweet was referencing to a gesture the Chiefs and Texans made prior to the start of the game to show their support of racial unity in the fight against racial injustice and inequality against Black Americans.
In a video posted to Twitter by the NFL, players from both teams, including Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and head coach Andy Reid, as well as Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson and defensive end J.J. Watt, can be seen standing in the middle of the field, locking arms.
“A moment of silence dedicated to the ongoing fight for equality in our country. #ItTakesAllOfUs,” NFL wrote in their tweet.
In the background of the video, fans in attendance can be heard booing during the moment.
In addition to the moment of silence, both teams decided to remain in the locker room during the National Anthem.
Shortly after the boos were heard, fans took to Twitter to express their distaste for the response the moment of racial unity received from Chiefs fans.
“I would LOVE to see an interview with someone–ANYONE–in the crowd who just chose to boo a ‘moment of silence and unity.’,” ESPN’s Sarah Spain wrote on Twitter. “Just try not to sound like a complete and utter idiot putting into words why you’re angry about UNITY. Morons. All of them.”
Former Chiefs offensive lineman Jeff Allen also responded to the boos, writing, “Let’s boo a moment of unity, it’s never been about the anthem.”
New Orleans Saints safety Malcolm Jenkins appeared on CNN shortly after the game to talk about the crowd’s response, saying, “The Kansas City Chiefs, when they were leading that city to a Super Bowl championship, those same fans cheered.”
“But when players want to draw attention to the critical conditions of their communities, you’re met with boos,” Jenkins added.
After the Chiefs secured the win over the Texans, players from both teams spoke about the moment of racial unity and the response from the crowd.
“Obviously with everything going on in this country, we wanted to show that we’re unified as a league and we’re not going to let playing football distract us from what we’re doing and making change in this world,” Mahomes told reporters after the game.
According to Yahoo Sports reporter Terez A. Paylor, Watt said, “the booing was unfortunate during that moment.”
“I don’t fully understand that, there was no flag involved, there was nothing involved in that other than two teams coming together to show unity,” Watt added.
Newsweek reached out to Hawley for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
