Former MLB pitchers Pat Mahomes Sr. and John Rocker had to be broken up after a heated exchange during Super Bowl week in New Orleans.
On February 11, X was flooded with videos of the father of Kansas City Chiefs superstar quarterback and the retired Ranger’s pitcher-turned-social media personality in the French Quarter. The exchange starts with a hard-to-make-out greeting. Mahomes then appears to refuse a handshake from Rocker. The trading of words then gets visibly heated.
The two men begin circling each other, and others who appear to know the former athletes try to push them back to prevent a fisticuff.
An onlooker can be heard asking, “Is that f**cking Johnny Rocker?” Rocker throws his drink toward Mahomes’ feet, and the video ends.
John Rocker and Pat Mahomes Sr showdown in New Orleanspic.twitter.com/TjOrMSA1hl
— Cowtown Caller (@CowtownCaller) February 12, 2025
The two took to social media later to continue their spat online.
“This [f**king] loser can’t take a damn joke. Wish I laid him out right there and ruined his [bulls**t] weekend even more,” Rocker posted on X.
Mahomes Sr. responded, “You really haven’t changed one bit in the last 25 years. Keep my name out your loud mouth.”
He added in another post that “John Rocker is a menace to society.”
Rocker continued the insults, writing, “You wouldn’t have had the balls to say that to my face the other night. Lanky ass clown.”
He later posted, “F[**]K PATRICK MAHOMES.”
It is unclear if this referred to the senior Mahomes or his son, whose team was defeated by the Philadelphia Eagles in the February 9 Super Bowl.
In a stroke of premonition, coincidence, or possibly even staging, Barstool Sports’ chief Dave Portnoy had previously predicted a boxing match between Rocker and Mahomes.
“I believe we have a signed agreement for Mahomes Sr. to fight John Rocker in Rough & Rowdy,” Portnoy said, per the New York Post.
Later in the interview Portnoy somewhat lowered expectations, saying, “I’m not 100%, I think it is 100% but I haven’t like seen the signed paperwork yet.”
As of this writing, there has been no publicly reported plan for the two men to enter a boxing ring together.