Kansas City Chiefs coach Reid bemused by Super Bowl conspiracy theory
There isn’t much the seasoned veteran hasn’t encountered in a storied career, but he was almost lost for words when a German reporter asked him about theories being espoused that the NFL had somehow "scripted" the romance between Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift to allow the popstar to use the Super Bowl to bolster support for Joe Biden in the presidential election.
“Hmmm,” Reid smiled, before suddenly shaking his head in bemusement.
“That’s way out of my league. Very similar to me speaking German,” he guffawed.
“But listen, I appreciate the question. She’s been great,” he said of Swift’s support, before adding “We had a nice visit with President Biden last year, but that’s about as far as I can go with that.”
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell had on Monday laughed off the claims as the run-up to Sunday's Super Bowl between Kansas City and San Francisco has been dominated by stories surrounding the relationship between the world's biggest pop star and the Chiefs player.
While Goodell said the 'Taylor Swift effect' is positive for the league, the singer has become a target for allies of former President Donald Trump, with some spreading conspiracy theories that her relationship with Kelce was part of an NFL plan to get Biden back into the White House.
"I don't think I'm that good of a scripter - or anybody on our staff," laughed Goodell. "Listen, there is no way I could have scripted that one, let's put it that way."
Swift backed Biden in 2020 and while she has not announced support for any candidate ahead of this year's election some Republican party supporters are convinced she will use the Super Bowl spotlight to call on her army of fans, known as "Swifties", to vote Democrat.
Vivek Ramaswamy, who dropped out of the presidential race last month before throwing his support behind Trump, said in January on the social media platform X: "I wonder who’s going to win the Super Bowl next month.
"And I wonder if there’s a major presidential endorsement coming from an artificially culturally propped-up couple this fall. Just some wild speculation over here, let’s see how it ages over the next eight months."