Jason Kelce issued an on-air apology for repeating an anti-gay slur directed at his brother Travis Kelce by a heckler whose phone he smashed in an incident that went viral on social media over the weekend.
“Everybody has seen what happened,” Kelce began at the top of ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown broadcast. “I’m not happy with anything that took place. I’m not proud of it. In a heated moment I chose to greet hate with hate, and I just don’t think that’s a productive thing, I really don’t. I don’t think it leads to discourse and it’s [not] the right way to go about things.”
In a series of clips that gained traction on Saturday, a man could be heard taunting Jason Kelce as he used an anti-gay slur against his brother in reference to his relationship with singer Taylor Swift. In response, the retired Philadelphia Eagles player whipped around and smashed the individual’s phone on the ground, repeating the same slur back at him. The incident took place at the Ohio State-Penn State game at Beaver Stadium in State College, Penn.
“In that moment I fell down to a level I shouldn’t have,” he continued. “So, I think the bottom line is I try to live my life by the golden rule, it’s what I’ve always been taught. I try to treat people with common decency and respect, and I’m gonna keep doing that moving forward even though I fell short this week.”
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has been dating pop star Swift since September of last year. The musician and athlete have been seen out and about together alongside family members at various football games. Swift arrived at tonight’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Kansas City Chiefs matchup held at Arrowhead Stadium in Missouri to support Travis Kelce. (His team won 30-24 after going into overtime.)
“We got a game to focus on, obviously a matchup. I don’t think this is the platform to necessarily go into more detail,” Jason Kelce said in his concluding remarks.
