Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce endured a frustrating first half during Sunday’s Super Bowl. In fact, following a Chiefs fumble, cameras caught Kelce bumping into head coach Andy Reid and yelling in Reid’s face.
In the wake of Kansas City’s 25-22 overtime victory over the San Francisco 49ers, both Reid and Kelce downplayed the incident.
On Wednesday, however, Kelce admitted instant regret the moment he bumped his coach.
“When he stumbled, I was just like ‘Oh s***,’ in my head,” the tight end said on his “New Heights” podcast.
Kelce made this admission during a conversation with his brother, podcast co-host and now-retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce.
Travis Kelce, of course, has attracted disproportionate attention due to his relationship with pop-music megastar Taylor Swift. Incessant coverage of her regular attendance at Chiefs games this season has enthused some viewers and annoyed others. Either way, the tight end already had cameras following his every move, which brought added scrutiny to the Reid incident.
With refreshing honesty, Jason Kelce, 36, did not let his younger brother off the hook.
“You crossed the line,” Jason said. “I think we can both agree on that.”
And Travis, 34, did not dispute it.
Should Kelce have been punished for pushing his coach?
In fact, when Travis admitted that he made a mistake by bumping Reid, Jason added that the tight end actually made several mistakes.
“Or, I mean even, let’s be honest, the yelling in his face, too, was over the top. I think there’s better ways to handle this, retrospectively,” Jason said.
Again, Travis agreed.
The brothers then spent several minutes discussing their respective problems with controlling their own emotions.
Travis called that struggle “the battle of my career.”
Interwoven with that discussion, Travis also highlighted his love and gratitude for “Big Red,” as Reid is known.
“I just love playing for the guy, man,” Travis said of his coach.
Jason then acknowledged that the viewing public has no idea of Travis’s relationship with Reid.
The confrontation “doesn’t look great, obviously. The optics of it look really bad. But nobody knows your and Big Red’s relationship,” Jason said.
At that point, however, Jason shifted focus and included himself in the conversation.
“We both know that one of our weaknesses is our emotions and one of our strengths is our emotions,” Jason said.
“It’s something that I truly wish we were better at,” he added before describing a similar incident with Eagles head coach, Nick Sirianni.
Readers may view the entire podcast below. The relevant segment begins around the 26-minute mark.
WARNING: The following video contains vulgar language that some readers may find offensive
In general, Travis Kelce has not endeared himself to fans who like their on-field entertainment with a dash of humility.
Likewise, for those who have felt understandably exhausted, put off or even repulsed by the weekly amplification of Swift’s otherwise inoffensive presence at Chiefs games, Kelce’s poor behavior amounted to one more reason for heaping criticism and venting frustration.
The Kelce brothers’ discussion on Wednesday, however, did make for interesting viewing. In fact, it appeared that Jason could speak truths to his younger brother that perhaps not many others have spoken.
