Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson gave a shout-out to recent comments made by Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce towards Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval.
After the Chiefs won the American Football Conference (AFC) Championship game by defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 on Sunday, Kelce called Pureval a “jabroni” in response to the mayor’s earlier dig at Chiefs’ star quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
GIVE @TKELCE THE MIC.
(via @NFLonCBS) pic.twitter.com/K1fSPyaEkW
— NFL (@NFL) January 30, 2023
“I’ve got some wise words for that Cincinnati mayor: Know your role and shut your mouth, you jabroni!” yelled the Chiefs tight end during a post-game interview.
“Jabroni,” a slang word for “foolish person,” was a catchphrase used by Johnson throughout his professional wrestling career.
My boy said what he said.
I appreciate the venomous “shut yo” over formal “shut your” 🤣👊🏾🏆@tkelce https://t.co/U2Ef4xoVWK— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) January 31, 2023
“My boy said what he said,” Johnson tweeted. “I appreciate the venomous ‘shut yo’ over formal ‘shut your.’”
Kelce’s fiery response came after Pureval took a dig at Mahomes before the match.
The mayor posted a video on Twitter in which he joked that Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow “has been asked by officials to take a paternity test confirming whether or not he’s [Mahomes’] father” due to Burrow’s 3-0 record against him.
This includes the Bengals’ AFC championship victory last year at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, which the Bengals and the Pureval referred to as “Burrowhead.”
A WHO DEY proclamation from the Mayor: @Bengals pic.twitter.com/W1tCqupdTw
— Aftab Pureval (@AftabPureval) January 27, 2023
Pureval’s comments insulting the Bengals did not sit well with many on Twitter.
“Are you seriously trying to jinx your team by motivating the heck out of Kansas City to want to beat you!?” wrote weather anchor James Quinones. “Even little league players know better than to talk bad about the other team because it highly motivates them!”
“I am now cheering for the Chiefs solely because of this video,” commented sports journalist Mark Strotman.
“@Chiefs #Chiefs please rest assured that nobody in Ohio thinks this is funny or needed. Good Lord. I don’t blame you for hating us even more after this but please understand real fans don’t do ridiculous things like this,” tweeted author Rodney Muterspaw.
In response to the immediate backlash, Pureval seemingly attempted to backpedal by saying he was carried away by his love for his home team.
Bengals nation, Lol. I hear you. My competitive juices and love for cincy got the best of me. My bad. Staying hungry and humble. See you Sunday. Who Dey baby!
— Aftab Pureval (@AftabPureval) January 28, 2023
In a post-game press conference, Kelce also took another shot at Pureval, saying, “Cincinnati was a better city when Jerry Springer was the mayor.”
Kelce also interrupted a CBS interview with Mahomes to yell “Burrowhead, my ass! Woooo! It’s Mahomes’ house!”
Travis Kelce: “Burrowhead my a**!!!This Mahomes’ House!
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 30, 2023
Acknowledging Kelce’s words, Pureval responded on Twitter by saying, “Yeah. Deserved that. Congrats to KC on a well-fought win, and good luck in Arizona.”
Yeah. Deserved that.
Congrats to KC on a well-fought win, and good luck in Arizona.
Proud of our fans and our @bengals for the energy all year.
Who Dey! https://t.co/CdBAsJRyVY
— Aftab Pureval (@AftabPureval) January 30, 2023
Mahomes, who threw for 326 yards and two touchdowns while playing with a high ankle sprain, also took a dig at Burrow by poking fun at his cigar-smoking during postgame celebrations.
“This team stepped up against a great football team,” Mahomes said. “And we showed this place is Arrowhead, it’s not Burrowhead out here. I don’t think we have any cigars, but we’ll be ready to go in the Super Bowl.”
