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The mother of the Chiefs fan who appeared to be taunted with a touchdown ball by Raiders star Jack Jones on Christmas Day backed up the NFL player’s version of events that he recovered the ball when an adult tried to take it.
During their Christmas Day matchup against the Chiefs, the Raiders cornerback took a pick-six from Patrick Mahomes and returned for a 33-yard touchdown. After helping Las Vegas take a 17-7 lead, Jones ran into the stands to hand the ball to a young Chiefs fan.
However, Jones appeared to have mocked the boy by taking the ball away from him before he could reach it. The moment went viral when fans criticized Jones for the act, calling him the Grinch.
But Jones then tackled X and defended himself, saying: “I didn’t snatch the ball from the boy.” It was from that black guy (sic) that he tried to take it, look at him again, lollipop.
And now, Tessa, the boy’s mother, has attempted to set the record straight once and for all with a Facebook post of her own.
Jack Jones was called ‘The Grinch’ for appearing to take a football from a young fan
I didn’t take that ball from the kid, it was from that black guy who tried to take it from him look at him again lollipop https://t.co/SNkD0lk08d
– Jack Jones���� (@presidentjacc) December 26, 2023
‘Story time!’ she wrote. ‘Yesterday, my 11-year-old son went crazy and viral. Like 30 million viral views, for being on the receiving end of an NFL Grinch. But the headlines are wrong: there is more to the story. The real Grinch here is the one who vilified a player whose heart was actually in the Christmas spirit.
‘We flew home to Kansas City to spend Christmas with my parents and were able to get front row seats to the Kansas City Chiefs game well below cost, courtesy of long-time season ticket holders who know and love my sweet children.
‘It was his first NFL game, his second. If you know Logan, you know that he is an absolute sports fan and a die-hard Chiefs fan. And if you know Lucy, you know there are few things she loves more than the Kansas City Chiefs and Taylor Swift (and you know this mom tried really hard to get tickets, but she failed and can’t afford high school).
“So going to the game with my dad was the perfect gift – hopefully a shout-out to Taylor and a lot of football.” Lucy came to CBS with her ‘See Taylor’s Boyfriend’ sign, and Logan? Well, he became ‘Twitter famous’.
‘When Jack Jones of the Las Vegas Raiders intercepted a pass from Mahomes for a pick 6, Jones looked at the fans lined up in the end zone and made eye contact with Logan. Jones smiled at him as he ran; he did everything he could to find a child.
‘As a mother, all I could do was smile. You forget about the rivalry at that moment. You forget about the Raider Hater chants you grew up with. You even forget that your beloved Chiefs are losing and the opposing team just scored on a turnover. All you see is the moment through your child’s eyes – this will mean a lot to him.
And I would have done it. The video circulated like wildfire. Sports Illustrated ESPN FanDuel Fox News Barstool Sports The Kansas City Star: Literally hundreds of outlets, and some, with the best clickbait headline of all time: ‘Raiders Jack Jones Go Wild on Kid.’
“But if you watch the video, what you don’t see is the guy behind me who is literally on his back trying to grab the ball from me. You don’t see the other Chiefs fans yelling at the players that they stink.
Jones took the ball from him when a fan ran over the boy and tried to grab the ball.
Later, the Chiefs give the young fan a football signed by Kansas City linebacker Willie Gay.
“You don’t see the Raiders players taunting the fans (and riling up the crowd, as my 12-year-old daughter pointed out). Jones tried to give the ball to Logan and took it back when the guy behind me started hitting and curse. Logan, of course, was devastated.
“I was, of course, very bummed for him, and beyond upset that an adult ruined this moment (side note: the ‘old man’ people were referring to on Twitter next to Logan, who was also trying to grab the ball , it was my dad, who was 100% trying to help.) And to add insult to injury, this entire event spilled Logan’s hot chocolate that I had just bought him, a special gift (who spends $10 on hot chocolate?!? # Christmas), about him. Poor child.
“Anyway, the Chiefs definitely tried to fix things in the third quarter: They saw the incident on Twitter and brought him an autographed ball from Willie Gay. So cool. And at the same time, that moment will never be replaced: the gift that was and then it wasn’t and then the consequences of seeing the thousands of insults towards him on Twitter (spoiled child with front row seats, dumb child, etc.). If you knew Logan, you would know that he is an incredible child, grateful, empathetic and hilarious who really loves sports.
“It’s a good lesson for all of us: There’s always more to the story or another angle you can see, and give people the benefit of the doubt unless you have a front-row seat to their intentions.” As adults, we should all do better for our next generation of sports fans and humans.
‘Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. And, Clark Hunt, if you’re reading this, Lucy’s Taylor Swift tickets to Indy (my brother lives there, so we’d have a place to stay) and a Travis Kelce-signed t-shirt for Logan would really make it better. (Just kidding… but 30 million views… you have to ask, right)?’
Tessa also shared photos from the family day, including one of her son holding his signed Chiefs football.