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Patrick Mahomes' wife, Brittany Matthews Mahomes, has once again come under fire on social media—with many calling her out over her ignorance of wild animals being kept in captivity.
The 27-year-old former professional women's soccer star shared a photo of her swimming with dolphins while visiting a park over the weekend.
The wife of the Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs quarterback is no stranger to dividing opinion on social media, and while on vacation with their two children, Sterling and Bronze, Matthews Mahomes shared a series of photos with dolphins at a marine theme park.
Holding her daughter in her arms while in the water, a dolphin is seen swimming up to them.
Matthews Mahomes captioned the snaps on Instagram: "Ever snuggled a 400lbs dolphin?"
She went on to share a number of photos in which she was holding on to the dolphin's dorsal fin as she swam alongside the sea mammal.
In the comments on Instagram, many took Matthews Mahomes to task, with one writing: "This is so disappointing and appalling that you are so clueless to the plight of kidnapped and captive animals forced to do this s***."
Another added: "Please educate yourself on dolphins in captivity! It is hell for these beautiful creatures."
While a third wrote: "This is really disappointing that you don't recognize the cruelty!"
A fourth was incredulous after looking at the pics, commenting: "I'm sorry that you didn't have prior knowledge that this is cruelty to dolphins."
It wasn't all bad news for Matthews Mahomes though, as there were a few messages of support amid the intense trolling she faced.
One supporter wrote: "Jesus Christ everyone she's on vacation! The dolphin is not in her back yard! Calm down!"
While another commented in her defense, saying that Matthews Mahomes was giving her children an invaluable lesson, writing: "Oh I so love this!! Teaching Sterling to love the ocean and it's inhabitants. Loving that dolphin is precious!!"
World Animal Protection has previously slammed the keeping of dolphins in captivity, saying: "Dolphin entertainment is extreme animal cruelty masquerading as innocent family fun."
The animal rights organization released a report this year, titled "Behind the Smile," after investigating the impact of dolphinariums.
In the report, World Animal Protection stated: "At marine theme parks, the needs of the captive dolphins always come second to the needs of the public who view or interact with them.
"To avoid disappointing visitors, the shape, depth and overall size of their tiny enclosures are designed to make the dolphins readily visible even when underwater. Most tanks give the animals no room to retreat from public view."
The report continued: "Water treatment methods such as ozonation and chlorination are used in the dolphins' tanks. These maintain the water clarity needed for visitors to see the animals clearly and neutralize the bacteria from large quantities of animal waste products.
"The use of harsh chemicals like these can cause an array of health issues, particularly of the eyes and skin."
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