“Keep politics out of sports” – Texas Tech kicker endorsing Donald Trump divides opinion on social media

Texas Tech's kicker smartly converts a field goal to a touchdown and then whips out the Donald Trump endorsement in front of thousands.

“Keep politics out of sports” – Texas Tech kicker endorsing Donald Trump divides opinion on social media

Texas Tech kicker Reese Burkhardt and Donald Trump (Image via Imago/X)

Keeping Donald Trump away from football seems impossible. The former USA President turned more heads when he received a shoutout from Texas Tech Red Raiders kicker Reese Burkhardt on Saturday.

The Red Rangers trailed 14-3 against local rivals TCU Horned Frogs in the first quarter. Tech’s next drive right after going behind by eleven dragged until a fourth down. Burkhardt stepped up to reduce the score by eight.

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However, the young kicker had something else up his sleeve. Burkhardt, instead of kicking, received a direct snap of the ball and ran off with it. The TCU defense wasn’t ready for the trickery, which allowed Burkhardt to run into the endzone without facing much resistance.

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The crowd inside the Amon G. Carter Stadium was still recovering from the brilliant play from the visitors when something else caught their attention. Burkhardt right after scoring the touchdown, pulled his jersey up, exposing the shirt underneath with the phrase “TRUMP 24 MAGA” written on it.

Social media uproar after Reese Burkhardt endorsed Donald Trump during the TCU-Texas Tech game

The next presidential election is only a few days away, and naturally, the political air is at its tipping point. Even though former Tech quarterback and 3x Super Bowl winner Patrick Mahomes has made it clear that he will never influence anyone to vote for a specific candidate, his juniors don’t have to follow suit.

"Keep politics out of sports" Texas Tech kicker endorsing Donald Trump divides opinion on social media
Donald Trump (Image via IMAGO)

Burkhardt chose to endorse Trump after scoring a touchdown against TCU. However, the gesture received massive criticism on social media.

Tech went on to lose the game by just one point. They led 34-28 with five minutes left until the final whistle. TCU’s quarterback Josh Hoover then found Eric McAllister, who spun his marker and ran 84 yards to score the game-winning touchdown. Hoover ended the game with 21 from 32 completed passes for three touchdowns and two interceptions.

As for Tech, they lost quarterback Behren Morton to a contactless shoulder injury, as per ESPN. Will Hammond, who was rested for the game, replaced Morton for the rest of the game. The loss for Tech means they have the same record as TCU: five wins and three defeats. Both teams also share the same Big 12 record with three wins and two defeats.

Donald Trump has been to a couple of football games this year. He was present during the Alabama-Georgia game and also attended the Jets-Steelers game in the NFL. According to reports, he will also be present at the Ohio State-Penn State game as well.