Tyrann Mathieu Says Chiefs 'Might Be One of the Most Toxic Fanbases in All of Sports'

Kansas City Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu and linebacker Anthony Hitchens got caught up in a debate with the team's fans Friday on social media.

Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk noted the situation started with an Instagram post asking fans to rank the worst moves by Chiefs general manager Brett Veach, which included Hitchens' five-year, $45 million contract among the options.

"All we did was go to 3 AFC championship games and 2 Super Bowls and 1 SB win in my first 3 years here so far," Hitchens replied. "Y'all fans will never be satisfied it's sad!"

Mathieu added, "This might be one of the most toxic fan bases in all of sports."

The situation didn't end there, as Kansas City fans took offense to Mathieu's remark and questioned his motives since he can become an unrestricted free agent after the 2021 season.

"Somebody gon' pay me. I'm too smart [and] I'm too good!" Mathieu responded.

The Chiefs have been the NFL's gold standard over the past three years. They posted a 38-10 regular-season record between 2018 and 2020 while reaching at least the AFC Championship Game every year, highlighted by a triumph in Super Bowl LIV.

Patrick Mahomes and Co. haven't been nearly as dominant during the first half of the 2021 campaign, though. They own a 3-4 record and rank 11th in the AFC playoff picture.

Kansas City likely has too much talent to linger around .500 for the entire season, and a winning streak is likely on the horizon that'll quickly push the team up the standings.

That said, it's clear the poor start to the year has both players and fans on edge ahead of Monday night's home game against the New York Giants.

While there are obvious benefits for players being able to make direct contact with fans on social media, these types of situations represent the downside.

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley, another player from a championship contender, spent most of training camp and the early regular season debating supporters on Twitter about the NFL's COVID-19 rules. He ultimately deactivated his account.

Beasley played 91 percent of the offensive snaps in Week 1. By Week 5, that number had dipped to 39 percent after the wideout had questioned why he was being booed by home fans following a Week 4 win over the Houston Texans.

In Week 6, the first game after he deactivated his Twitter page, he was back up to 87 percent of snaps.

Put simply, teams with a chance to chase down a Super Bowl title don't like distractions, and the Instagram interactions by Mathieu and Hitchens are likely going to cause a short-term one for the Chiefs.