(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) A black NFL superstar proposed to his girlfriend on the field Sunday, capturing viral attention on social media. However, some users reacted with racist vitriol directed at the girlfriend, simply because she is a white woman.
The viral video shows Washington Commander Safety Jeremy Reaves dropping to one knee to ask his longtime girlfriend, Mikaela Worley, to marry him. Reaves proposed after his team defeated the Atlanta Falcons to secure a playoff spot.
While most users celebrated Reaves’s decision to share this special moment, others took issue with Worley’s race.
The comments reflected a disturbing animosity toward white women, particularly in the context of their support for President-elect Donald Trump.
One user remarked, “mid yt women got the NFL on LOCK!” using “yt” as slang for white people and “mid” to belittle Worley’s appearance. This comment garnered 21.7 million views and over 132,000 likes.
Mid yt women got the NFL on LOCK! https://t.co/QgAkanLCyG
— Julito McCullum aka LITO (@IamJulito) December 30, 2024
Another user questioned “What makes them marry outside of their race?” receiving 248,000 views.
A different user, without evidence, suggested that marrying a white woman helps in securing brand endorsements.
“Their professional careers and agency told them that the 2 black parent house hold ‘thing’ would jeopardize his image,” the user claimed. “A form of submissiveness by the nfl player.”
My theory to this is that with the pre draft and Pro black women they had , they couldn’t get certain endorsements. Their professional careers and agency told them that the 2 black parent house hold “thing” would jeopardize his image. A form of submissiveness by the nfl player
— Chosen and fine as hell 🙂↕️ (@Erinw911) December 30, 2024
A fourth user stated that the Black community “lost another one,” referring to Reaves.
A user named ShayUnleashed shared the clip with the caption, “In all honesty, it just does not look right,” which garnered 1.4 million views.
Another individual, Leanoarda Jonie, wrote that “no amount of money will unruin your blood line,” without specifying to whom she was referring.
In another comment, Jonie suggested, “She’s crying because deep down she doesn’t want to do this.”
She’s crying because deep down inside she doesn’t want to do this.
— Leonarda Jonie (@leonardaisfunE) December 30, 2024
Jonie doubled down on her claims, remarking without evidence “that these are staged for a long time. It’s a new way they try to make white women believe ‘everyone is doing it.’”
Reaves seemingly ignored the racist comments, telling reporters that the victory motivated his proposal.
Another X user disturbingly wrote that “nothing looks more natural than an interracial couple.”
“I hate losing, so there’s no way I could have done that in the right spirit after a loss,” Reaves said in an interview with the Associated Press. “That thing was burning a hole in my pocket.”
“She’s earned it. I can’t say enough about her,” Reaves added. “When I was at my lowest last year, she was there to pick me up every day. She showed up. That’s my best friend. Been my best friend since high school.”
