Sports podcaster and former NFL player Mike Golic Jr. might have some empathy for Jason Kelce after his controversial actions this past weekend— but he acknowledged punishment could be coming Kelce’s way.
During the Monday, November 4 episode of his “GoJo and Golic” podcast, Golic Jr., 35, addressed the viral incident involving Kelce, 36, in which the former Philadelphia Eagles star threw a man’s phone to the ground after a homophobic slur was used in reference to Jason’s brother, Travis Kelce. Video released by TMZ showed Jason repeating the slur three times in rebuttal.
“Now, at the end of the day, Jason is gonna have to pay for this,” Golic Jr. said. “What comes of it? I don’t know.”
Golic Jr. made his comments before Kelce appeared later that evening on ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown, where he issued an apology for his behavior at the start of the broadcast.
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Us Weekly reached out to ESPN for comment on Kelce’s future with the network, but did not hear back.
“I certainly won’t sit here and criticize Jason Kelce, as most were on his side,” Golic Jr. continued. “Some obviously saying he has got to handle that better. Well, you know what, until you are in that situation, it’s easy to say you should have handled it better.”
Golic Jr. — a former ESPN Radio host who spent time with the Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints — argued the incident involving Kelce was indicative of a bigger issue plaguing the way individuals interact with athletes and celebrities.
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“This sort of underscores the larger societal mentality where people just continue to think they can say anything they want inside the arena with no consequences,” he said. “Like this is Twitter and they think it’s sweet out here and quickly find out in a way that could have gone markedly worse for the person involved on the receiving end of this from Jason Kelce that that’s not gonna fly here.”
Since joining ESPN at the start of the 2024-’25 NFL season, Kelce has frequently attended tailgates before games and partied with football fans without the presence of much security.
That, according to Golic Jr., likely has to change.
“This is also a reminder to Jason that he is probably gonna have to find ways to get himself out of these situations in the future,” Golic Jr. argued. “He’s been an awesome, accessible star while him and Travis have watched their profile grow. But people are just not responsible enough for all that access to a guy that nice.”
