First things first: The Las Vegas Raiders, led by Fernando Mendoza, won 22-20 over the Houston Texans, who were led by C.J. Stroud, on August 20. It was somewhat of a redemption game for them after losing to the Arizona Cardinals a week earlier. This could help establish Mendoza’s standing in the NFL. He is still being judged and will continue to be judged throughout the season.As for why you’re reading this: Two MLFootball posts about Mendoza describe two seemingly strange traits. One says he is okay with having a girlfriend, while the other says he has no time in his professional football life for a girlfriend because girls can be “very distracting.” Let’s check out each one by one.
Fernando Mendoza’s no girlfriend policy under question after being spotted with Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu
Fernando Mendoza is turning heads for all the right reasons wherever he goes, including for one thing that speaks volumes about his football-first lifestyle. Before becoming the Las Vegas Raiders’ No. 1 overall pick, Mendoza made headlines for an unreal explanation of why he was single.In a resurfaced clip shared by MLFootball, the former Indiana Hoosiers quarterback explained that he had electively avoided relationships because he knew he would have to give his girlfriend a ton of attention: from date nights to dinner dates and everything in between.“I don’t have time for a girlfriend,” Mendoza said. “Girls are very distracting. If I have one, I would have to give her my all hanging out. Instead of watching an extra [football] film.”He would have to dedicate his evenings to a relationship instead of spending that time preparing for the NFL. But here comes the twist! The moment he entered the league, another clip shared by MLFootball showed him looking all cheery after being spotted with Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu.
Fernando Mendoza and Alysa Liu dating rumors
The rumors began when the two played Fortnite together. “You sure wanna do this?” Mendoza asked Liu through a video call. “Yeah,” she replied.Then came the Instagram Story, where Mendoza mimicked Liu’s trophy bite and asked her in the caption, “[Alysa Liu], am I doing it right?”That was not enough. They were also spotted at a red carpet event: the 2026 ESPY Awards. Liu won Best Breakthrough Athlete following her stellar Olympic gold-medal run in figure skating, while Mendoza won Best College Athlete – Men’s Sports for his performance with Indiana football.Then came the MLFootball post, where the two were pictured looking admiringly at each other. The post appeared to be from the 2026 ESPY Awards. This has led fans to believe the two could be dating.MLFootball also captioned it spicely: “Raiders first overall pick quarterback Fernando Mendoza and Olympic figure skater Alysa Liu shared a warm embrace at a recent red carpet event. Mendoza and Liu have become close friends and were clearly excited to see each other. Awesome to see this.”
