U.S. flag football champion says he’s better fit to be Olympic QB than Patrick Mahomes
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - Despite being a three-time Super Bowl MVP, Patrick Mahomes might have to prove himself on another playing field before he gets to add Olympian to his résumé.
Current American flag football quarterback Darrell “Housh” Doucette said he needs Mahomes to prove him otherwise. Doucette believes he’s better served to lead the United States at the 2028 Olympic Games than Mahomes.
“I love the fact that (NFL players) want to play and come out and compete,” Doucette told TMZ Sports this week. “But at the end of the day, we want the same process that we’ve had to play in. We had to try out, and so do they.
“I don’t want them to be entitled just because of their names to just automatically make the team.”
In November 2023, Mahomes expressed a desire to play flag football when the Olympic Games come to American soil in 2028.
“I definitely want to,” Mahomes said of playing flag football in the Olympics when asked ahead of the Kansas City Chiefs game in Frankfurt, . Still, Mahomes itted the game is a bit different. “But I’ve seen some of those guys play flag football. They’re a little faster than I am. I know there’s not lineman blocking for you. I’ll be 31-32 years old.”
At the Olympics, flag football will feature two 20-minute halves and be played 5-on-5 on a field that measures 70 yards long and 25 yards wide. Substitutions will be allowed for offensive and defensive players.
“If I can still move around them,” Mahomes said, “I’m going to try to get out there and throw the football around maybe in LA.”
READ MORE: Chiefs’ Toub says he’ll advocate for Remigio to make 53-man roster
In 2022, the 5-foot-6 Doucette helped the U.S. national flag football team win gold at the World Games.
Mahomes will be 32 years old when the 2028 Olympics begin in Los Angeles. Doucette, now 35 years old, will be approaching the age of 40.
Still, Doucette said he thinks he’ll be more capable to fulfill the role when the sport makes its debut at the Olympics.
“I’m not hiding from the competition and none of my teammates -- nobody in the flag football world are hiding from the competition,” Doucette said. “At the end of the day, I feel like I’m better than Patrick Mahomes because of my IQ of the game. I know he’s right now the best in the league, I know he’s more accurate and he has all these intangibles, but when it comes to flag football I feel like I know more than him.”
Mahomes responded to Doucette’s comments Wednesday with a surprised GIF featuring 50 Cent.
Copyright 2024 KCTV. All rights reserved.
