On Feb. 15, 2023, new ads began to be displayed to users on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger that claimed Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was facing "cheating allegations" regarding drugs taken around Super Bowl LVII. The links in the ads led to a website that was purposely made by scammers to trick readers into believing they were reading content from ESPN.com. The website said that the Super Bowl MVP had been "caught" with "Erexo Plus" or "High Pump," both purported male enhancement supplement products.
None of this was true. ESPN had no involvement with this scam. The company's web design and logo were being used without permission.
Other ads showed the words, "Tragic Day for Mahomes. He is gone."
This was the second false rumor about Mahomes and drugs that surfaced following the team's Super Bowl victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. The game ended 38-35 on Feb. 12.
The first rumor falsely claimed that Mahomes had failed a drug test after the Super Bowl, a claim that had originated on an apparent satire Twitter account.
The fake ESPN.com website that promoted the newer rumor showed the article headline, "BREAKING NEWS: Patrick Mahomes Gets Caught! He's Now Under Investigation As The NFL Completely Overhauls Its Drug Testing Program."
This fake article was never published by ESPN.
The story began by referencing the first rumor and even went so far with the second rumor to claim that Mahomes had invested in the male enhancement supplements:
Patrick Mahomes, starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs in this year's Superbowl, is the latest target of the NFL's crackdown on performance enhancing drugs. After changes were made to the Substance Abuse Policy last month, many NFL players more so than any other sport, have been accused and sanctioned for using PEDs. Experts believe the changes are to level the playing field, and prevent players from having an advantage because of their ability to access certain supplements and/or drugs.
Mahomes is one of the most talented football players in the world, if not THE most talented overall, but even "he needs help sometimes" he said when addressing the NFL in a disciplinary hearing yesterday. Mahomes tweaked his ankle very severely a few weeks before the Superbowl, and could barely walk at the time. But he never missed any games, and didn't even miss a practice, which got the league and the fans wondering...how did he do it?
Well, now we know the answer. Mahomes used an off-market supplement called Erexo Plus [or High Pump] that is well known to NFL trainers to reduce inflammation and boost muscle growth by 150% in a matter of days. However, Mahomes says he's done nothing wrong and that the product is "perfectly legal and safe."
We were able to get an interview with Mahomes to find out more on his response to the NFL's allegations.
Pat revealed the NFL's true motives by adding, "I've actually invested in Erexo Plus [or High Pump] after seeing how strong it is, and we've officially launched it across the US starting today. The reason they are coming after me is because I didn't let the NFL partner with me on this. They saw how profitable the TB12 Method was for Brady and they wanted to invest in my supplement so they could get some of the profits, but I said no."
The end of the article misleadingly included logos for Men's Health, Men's Journal, Maxim, Sharp, and Playboy, as if all of these publications had written about or endorsed the product.
We were unable to find a parent company name for "Erexo Plus" or "High Pump," the products that the fake ESPN.com article claimed that Mahomes had endorsed and invested in.
This story will be updated if more developments come to light.
