In one of the biggest debacles in recent memory, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy was forced to announce that a fight between the father of Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and former MLB reliever John Rocker had to be called off.
Alas, we will not be getting our Big League Brawl.
This after Barstool posted a staged video of an altercation between the two. After Portnoy insisted it was all real. After Mahomes Sr. was forced to admit in court that yes, it was staged.
If this were a WWE segment, it’d be akin to the ‘Katie Vick‘ storyline. Just an utter car wreck. Portnoy is blaming the Chiefs quarterback’s family for sinking the fight.
“No, this fight is canceled,” Portnoy said in a recent podcast interview. “Mahomes’ agent — the football player — and Brittany, from what I am told, intervened and said, ‘There’s no way this fight happens; we’re going to cut this guy off if he does it.’”
Mahomes-Rocker Fight Is Off
Barstool Sports ‘Rough N’ Rowdy’ promotions put together the bout and almost assuredly tried to generate the buildup through the staged viral video of Mahomes and Rocker going at it.
It was an obvious joke from the onset. Just watching the video of Rocker approaching Mahomes on Bourbon Street showed worse acting than an SNL skit.
Portnoy embarassingly claimed the altercation was not staged. But that all went out the window when Mahomes Sr., who is on probation for a third DUI, filmed the segment and forgot to provide a urine test the same night.
Court documents indicate Mahomes’ dad admitted that the Rocker incident “was a staged altercation to get publicity for [a] celebrity boxing match that was set to take place in April 2025.”
Everybody Is Better Off Without This Fight
Rocker also tried to insinuate that the family of Patrick Mahomes was trying to get the fight nixed.
“Hearing Pat Mahomes Jr’s team of woke suits is trying to dissuade Pat Sr from fighting me,” he wrote on X. “Why don’t we sweeten the pot? I will put a percentage of my purse towards a charity my X followers choose?”
Was it the Mahomes family, really, though? Sure, Pops shouldn’t be out drawing attention to himself on Bourbon Street, no less, while on probation for DUI. And physically, Rocker looks like he would eat Mahomes Sr. alive.
But honestly, everybody is better off without this silly fight. Nobody was clamoring for a John Rocker-Patrick Mahomes over-50 boxing match. People were snickering over the staged video.
Portnoy is simply trying to save face after the embarrassing attempt to generate a storyline about old MLB pitchers trying to settle a non-existent score from 27 years ago.
Both men played in the major leagues. Rocker was a closer for the Braves, and he started his career on fire before controversies and taunting fans threw him off course.
Mahomes Sr. had his best season with the New York Mets in 1999, posting an 8–0 record during 39 relief appearances, and helped the team reach the playoffs. Since then, he’s had frequent off-the-field issues involving alcohol.
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