Heartbroken young Chiefs fan breaks silence on NFL's 'Phillies Karen' stealing Patrick Mahomes gift

The young Kansas City Chiefs fan whose gift from Patrick Mahomes was stolen by a spectator dubbed the new 'Phillies Karen' has spoken out on the viral moment - and pleaded with her to give it back to him.

Joey Masters, who lives in New York but has always been a huge Chiefs supporter, got tickets to watch his beloved team play against the Giants at MetLife Stadium for his 10th birthday last month.

At the end of Kansas City's 22-9 victory, Mahomes was seen walking over to the stands and trying to hand Masters his headband, only for a female in the crowd to lean over and snatch it for herself in a video which sparked outrage online.

The culprit later came forward and identified herself as New York native Nina Miller, insisting in a TikTok video that she thought the quarterback was giving her the memento while apologizing to the heartbroken boy.

Now Joey has broken his silence on the saga, telling Kansas City news station KCTV5: 'I just want that band back really bad.'

'Patrick Mahomes walked over to me, locked eyes with me, tries to give me his headband and the woman just swoops in and snatches it from me,' he added.

Masters said the Chiefs' win over the Giants was his first game after being a fan for several years. He and his mom, Mindy, were in the front row behind the end zone at MetLife Stadium.

The incident with Mahomes and Miller left them both stunned as she immediately turned and exited up the lower-level staircase.

'It was such a great day,' said Mindy. 'The players were amazing with us, the fans were, and just to have one person swoop in and take that from him is heartbreaking for a mother to watch.'

Miller initially defended her actions in a video on TikTok - claiming she had every right to take the band herself - before backtracking on that stance and issuing an apology to Joey in a later clip. 

'Guys, I just want to talk to you for one minute from my heart,' Nina said in the follow-up video. 'At the game, with all the noise and all the excitement, I honestly thought that Pat Mahomes was giving me the headband. I reached for it without thinking.

'Later I found out that it was meant for that little boy for his 10th birthday. When I found out I felt horrible, because I don't want to ruin anyone's little time at the game and ruin their little birthday.

'To the young boy, I'm sorry that I ruined your moment. You should have had your moment for your birthday.'

Nina went on to reveal that she has been targeted with 'cruel' messages online over the incident, while stressing that she now wants to do the right thing and send the memento to Joey if she receives the right contact details.

'I don't want her to get hate mail, don't want her to get death threats,' Mindy added. 'Just give the child his headband back.' 

Tavia Hunt, the wife of Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, has taken matters into her own hands in response to the NFL's own version of the 'Phillies Karen' saga.

The footage was spotted online by Hunt, who shared a post on social media asking her followers to help her identify Joey.

'If anyone knows who this boy is, message me!' she wrote on her Instagram story.

And hours later, she had a positive update to share with her 129,000 followers, saying: 'Thank you everyone! We found him! Surprises enusing!'