Contrary to what your average sports fan might tell you, NFL referees don’t actually care who wins the games they’re calling — but that doesn’t stop fans from crying “fix” when a call goes against their team.
It also doesn’t stop Jason Kelce from needling his brother, Travis Kelce, on accusations that his Kansas City Chiefs get favorable treatment.
With the NFL season underway, the brothers talked about officiating on their “New Heights” podcast in an episode that aired Wednesday, September 11. Jason, 36, is a retired Philadelphia Eagles center, while Travis, 34, is still a tight end for the Chiefs.
Jason brought up Ronnie Stanley, a left tackle for the Baltimore Ravens, who vented his frustration over several illegal formation penalties called against him in their loss to the Chiefs on Thursday, September 5. NFL officials have categorized illegal formations as a point of emphasis for the 2024 season.
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“It just opened up more criticism of the Chiefs getting more favorable calls from the officials,” Jason said, before asking his brother, “Do you have anything to say to that?”
Travis didn’t miss a beat.
“Keep ’em coming, refs,” he joked with a smile. “That’s why we f–k with you guys right now.”
If those penalties weren‘t enough, there was also an unusual sequence on Thursday in which officials granted the Chiefs a timeout despite an assistant and not the head coach calling for it. The whistle sent some fans into full-blown conspiracy mode.
The Chiefs are back-to-back Super Bowl champions, and Travis, their most prominent player, is dating music megastar Taylor Swift, whose fame has brought scores of new fans to the league. In the eyes of some, that gives the NFL reason to rig games in Kansas City’s favor.
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Jason didn’t let it go, either, calling out Travis’ teammate Jawaan Taylor, who Jason believes was the catalyst for the refs’ newfound emphasis on the illegal formation rule.
“The reason they’re calling this is because of Jawaan Taylor and the guys who were doing it a lot last year,” he insisted. “That’s the reality of it. Jawaan, he got called for it a lot last year.”
Travis laughed at the dig directed toward his teammate, before pointing out Jason once facetiously defended his ex-teammate, Lane Johnson, over the same rule, only to be rebuffed by former defensive end JJ Watt.
“It was funny because you actually said this to JJ Watt,” Travis quipped. “You said Lane Johnson has never been offsides or off the ball ever in his life, and JJ Watt replied with ‘I beg to differ.’”
The debate caused Jason to draw one conclusion: “I gotta get off Twitter is what I gotta do.”
