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After an embarrassing 44-20 loss for the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX against the Philadelphia Eagles, receiver DeAndre Hopkins had some words for a specific group of NFL fans. With the Chiefs getting blown out in the Super Bowl, Hopkins questioned the media after all the talking they did about the Chiefs being favored by refs, per Ari Meirov on X.
“You know, I saw a lot of things in the media about the refs,” Hopkins said. “But, what y'all gon' say now about the refs and us when there was a lot of touchy calls? Are y'all going to report that? Are y'all going to talk about the refs now?”
#Chiefs WR DeAndre Hopkins: "I saw a lot of things in the media about the refs. … There were a lot of touchy calls. Are ya'll gonna report that? Are ya'll gonna talk about the refs now?"
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 10, 2025
And while Hopkins' post-game comments might come across as him being a sore loser or something like that, he's saying what many people are thinking right now.
Heading into the Super Bowl, the NFL refs were almost a bigger topic than the upcoming game. And during Media Day, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce even turned the tables on reporters about officiating.
So, for Hopkins to feel like not only is the narrative false but it was proven in the biggest game of the season, that has to hurt a bit. Especially with Hopkins representing his late father before the game, it shows how important this game was to him.
This was also Hopkins' first-ever Super Bowl appearance after 12 seasons in the NFL. Clearly, this game held importance to Hopkins.
So, when the officiating — in his words — was touchy, the ref debate is likely to come back full steam.
However, with more than a week of fans clamoring that the Chiefs were favored by the NFL and refs heading into Sunday, Super Bowl LIX couldn't have disproven that narrative more if it tried.
JJ Watt, Robert Griffin III, others support ending Chiefs-ref narrative
There were plenty of people calling out the refs early in the game, but once the final buzzer buzzed, there weren't many fans claiming that the NFL was rigged anymore.
And as one of the loudest members to call out the fans who claimed the Chiefs got all the calls, JJ Watt kept it blunt in his post on X.
“That ref narrative died pretty quick,” Watt wrote.
Along with Watt, Robert Griffin III joined the online discussion with a quick question for the fans who think the NFL is rigged.
Y’all still think the refs are cheating for the Chiefs? pic.twitter.com/uaBUMe9OYc
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) February 10, 2025
And while Watt and Griffin were two of the more known voices in the debate, others agreed, including a user under the name of Chargers Union.
“Oh and almost forgot, pretty bats**t insane that the league allowed the team who they rig everything for to lose by 18 points in the Super Bowl,” Chargers Union wrote. “Just a thought but maybe we can stop whining about the refs and crying about how things aren’t fair now like adults.”
That wasn't where social media users stopped, with Joshua Brisco sending his opinion into the universe.
“where are your ref tweets you absolute buffoons,” Brisco questioned.
Finally, one post that gives ultimate clarity on the NFL ref narrative, once and for all.
“No whining about refs,” Price Carter wrote. “No claiming it’s rigged cause of celebrities. No conspiracy theories. Chiefs were awful today and had no answers. Eagles were the better team and the Chiefs have to get better. Nothing else to it.”
So, as the NFL heads into hibernation until the 2025-26 season, those claiming the NFL is rigged have nothing to complain about for a while.
