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Taylor Swift-NFL referee meeting, explained: Pop star joins Sarah Thomas for FaceTime call before Chiefs game
The Chiefs have done a whole lot of winning in recent months, claiming Super Bowl LVIII in February and not losing a single game since last December.
Of course, the more Patrick Mahomes & Co. win, the more fans speculate about how NFL referees may have helped fuel those victories. As the Chiefs took on the Broncos in Week 10, that speculation got a little bit more interesting.
One of the referees for Sunday’s contest between the Chiefs and Broncos in Kansas City was reportedly in brief contact with Taylor Swift — Travis Kelce’s superstar girlfriend and a huge Chiefs supporter — before the game.
Naturally, football fans began to suggest that down judge Sarah Thomas talking with Swift was another example of how the Chiefs were being favored by NFL officials.
Here’s what to know about Thomas’ interaction with Swift before Sunday’s matchup.
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Sarah Thomas-Taylor Swift interaction, explained
Per KSNT 27 News’ Landon Reinhardt, Thomas met Swift before Sunday’s game, and the referee was also on FaceTime with her family at the time.
Sarah Thomas, the down judge (ref) for today’s Chiefs/Broncos game, briefly met with Taylor Swift before the game
She was on FaceTime with family and I heard her say, ‘Did you get that screenshot?’ pic.twitter.com/nshcoRRYvZ
— Landon Reinhardt (@landonian87) November 10, 2024
MORE: Did Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes ask officials for help?
While the interaction could have been as simple as Swift saying hello to Thomas, and it wouldn’t be unusual for the pop star to interact with those around her, some fans weren’t happy about the possibility that an NFL referee was having conversations with a known supporter of Kelce and the Chiefs.
The NFL ain’t even hiding it anymore
— 𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔇𝔢𝔱𝔯𝔬𝔦𝔱 𝔗𝔦𝔪𝔢𝔰 📰 (@the_det_times) November 10, 2024
In response to the possibility that his report would add fuel to speculation that the Chiefs get help from referees, Reinhardt added that he “considered” that and he “figured it’d be too good of a story not to share.”
There isn’t yet any video of the meeting between Thomas and Swift, as the only video of Swift from before the game came when she was arriving at Arrowhead Stadium.
Taylor Swift arriving at today’s Chiefs game. pic.twitter.com/8xOnYRBrff
— Pop Base (@PopBase) November 10, 2024
While there hasn’t been further confirmation about the extent of the pregame interaction between Thomas and Swift, it added fuel to the fire of how non-Chiefs fans have judged officials’ calls in Kansas City’s wins this season.