Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin’s son is catching flak from some social media users after they found out that he was an aspiring rapper.
Mike Tomlin is known as one of the greatest Black head coaches in NFL history. Tomlin is a beacon of hope for African-American coaches, as he is the second longest-tenured head coach in the league today. Ever since starting in the position in 2007, Tomlin has won a Super Bowl, won over 170 games, and never had a losing season in his head coaching career.
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Before becoming a coaching icon, Tomlin was a wide receiver at William and Mary in the mid-90s. It was there that he met his future wife, Kiya, who was a gymnast at the college. They got married in 1996 and have three children together: Michael “Dino” Tomlin, Mason “Mayce” Tomlin, and Harlyn Quinn Tomlin.
Tomlin’s middle child, Mayce, recently found himself the butt of several jokes after he let it be known that he makes music. It all started after an X user posted an old picture of Omar Epps and his wife Keisha, joking that Epps was Tomlin. Users who saw the photo were confused because the coach and the actor bear a resemblance to each other.
The photograph even duped Tomlin’s own family, as Mayce quoted the post, saying, “Nah y’all out of control I was like that ain’t my mom??? then was like THAT AIN’T MY DAD EITHER.”
Tomlin’s tweet garnered more than 2,300 reposts and 22,000 likes on X, prompting Mayce to use the opportunity to promote his music. Unfortunately, the follow-up promo tweet wasn’t entirely met with fan support. X users clowned the 21-year-old for rapping despite being the son of an established NFL coach.
“N—a dad a NFL coach, and he wanna be rapper,” said one commenter. Another user referenced Michael Irvin, whose son also is an aspiring rapper. “Streets said we need a Michael Irvin vs Mike Tomlin adult son rappers Verzuz match up,” they said.
Nigga dad a nfl coach and he wanna be a rapper pic.twitter.com/Aa64mtgXBc
— Woseph (@josephlamisstx) October 30, 2023
Michael Irvin recently made headlines when he spoke out against his son’s fake “thug life” rap persona. Elijah Irvin, Michael Irvin’s youngest son, raps under the stage name Tut Tarantino. In a clip from an Oct. 19 episode of “Undisputed,” the former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver called his son out for some of the content in his verses.
“You grew up in a gated community your whole life. But he’s rapping my life because we romanticize and fantasize that old ‘thug life,’ ‘ghetto life’ and all that stuff,” Irvin said on the show.
Unlike Tut Tarantino, Mayce replied to several comments calling him out. The aspiring rapper asked one detractor, “Real talk tho somebody explain this logic to me…Dad = coach so son =/= artist? I’m genuinely lost why people are always so mad at me for loving to make music.”
He continued to say, “People be on the internet mad as hell they ain’t follow their dreams. I ain’t pressed bout it tho imma always do me!”
Some fans called for Mayce to put the mic down and pick the pads up, but that shows they don’t know what the coach’s son actually does. Mayce is a senior defensive back on Columbia University’s football team while also making music.
The student-athlete had an interview with the New York Post where he discussed what it was like growing up with Tomlin as a father. He said that his parents told him and his siblings, “You don’t have to do our thing, but you got to do something. … Doesn’t matter what it is, but it better be something.”
Mayce also shared what it was like being in music. He said that he was influenced by his great-grandfather, who played piano for Billie Holiday and Billy Eckstine. He got into rap after listening to artists like Chance the Rapper, Isaiah Rashad, and Logic.
Unlike Irvin, Tomlin supports his son’s musical endeavors, as he has shouted him out multiple times on his social media.
