The Chiefs Barber Who Tested Positive for Covid Was About to Cut Patrick Mahomes' Hair
Source - The Chiefs had to isolate two players this week when it was revealed that a barber with COVID-19 cut their hair. But it could have been much worse.
That same barber was scheduled to cut the hair of Patrick Mahomes and at least 20 other Chiefs players and staffers, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
The Chiefs had arranged for the barber to get a COVID-19 test and he was pulled from his duties when the test came back positive. The barber actually found out he was positive while he was in the process of cutting Chiefs center Daniel Kilgore’s hair. He had already cut wide receiver Demarcus Robinson‘s hair, so the two of them have been placed on the COVID-19 reserve list and will isolate until they’ve had negative tests for five days. The barber, Kilgore and Robinson were all wearing masks during the haircuts, and so far Kilgore and Robinson have continued to test negative.
The Chiefs dodged a bullet when the barber’s test result came back as quickly as it did.
Let's look at the elements of this story: Barber. Patrick Mahomes. Haircut. If the four element didn't involve a microbe that is just behind juvenile cancer on the list of topics no one wants to take lightly, I'd think this was a marketing campaign by State Farm. A publicity stunt.
In any other year, if that barber had the regular flu or Chicken Pox or something, I'd assume this story was their way to get everyone using the words "Patrick Mahomes" and "haircut" in the same sentence while building drama over the fact he might get sick before the game and take the free publicity from it all. Along the lines of Tom Brady last year making everybody think he was going to announce his future plans, only to end up plugging Hulu. My Facebook memories is currently bombarding me with all the people reaching out to me to bitch about that one.
But since the world is in no joking mood about Covid either, we can be sure this actually happened. The defending Super Bowl MVP came within one haircut appointment and one positive test from potentially having to sit out the subsequent Super Bowl. If he'd switched his appointment with Daniel Kilgore or had been sitting in that chair instead of Demarcus Robinson, he might be a scratch. If the barber's results came back a little later, we'd be, what? Getting ready for Chad Henne to start Sunday?
It staggers the imagination just how close the NFL came to dodging that bullet. To the point you'd have to assume they would've ignored their own guidelines. Roger Goodell would've summoned all his superhuman lying powers to spin this in such a way that Mahomes was not susceptible and he's personally been personally declared Covid-free by the CDC, the WHO, Dr. Fauci and Jesus Himself. They'd have found some antibody exists in his system that had been undiscovered among all humans until this week. Anything, other than to roll Henne out to face Brady, 11 months of "Player safety is our top priority" talk be damned.
And if Mahomes did have to sit, it would be the wildest development in the 55-year history of the event. In a way that would dwarf the time Raiders center Barrett Robbins had a mental health episode and went missing before the game in 2003. Or the time in 1999 that Falcons DB Eugene Robinson left his family poolside at the hotel, only to get popped for soliciting an undercover cop posing as a South Beach hooker. All of Janet Jackson's nipples combined can't compare to a healthy Patrick Mahomes having to watch the game from home because he might have the virus.
But if I'm calling the shots at this thing for either team, I'm going to recommend that they dispense with the hair cuts, shaves, mani-pedis, facials, Brazilian waxes and any other personal grooming appointments until after this season is in the books. They'll have all offseason to worry about their personal appearances. Then they can go nuts. But for now, let it go.