Travis Kelce was slapped by a rival player while playing his first NFL game since announcing his engagement to Taylor Swift.
Things got tense as the athlete, 35, and his Kansas City Chiefs teammates faced off against the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil on Friday, September 5.
In one heated moment, things got physical between Kelce and Teair Tart, 28, During the game, the Chargers player took a swing at the Kansas City Chief tight end, slapping Kelce’s helmet with his open hand after seemingly taking issue with Kelce pushing him.
Kelce appeared to be surprised by the physical altercation, stepping back and raising his hands in the air as if to question the act.
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NFL reporter Arye Pulli shared footage of the moment via X on Friday night, captioning the post, “Teair Tart throwing HANDS at Travis Kelce. He wasn’t ejected for this, surprisingly.”
In another post posted via X, the apparent reason why Tart was able to avoid being ejected for the move was shared by sports analyst Terry McAulay.
McAulay, 65, explained Tart wasn’t ejected after slapping Kelce due to the defensive lineman’s decision to use an open hand rather than closed fist during the altercation.
“According to Walt Anderson, they said because it was an open hand contact to the head, that was not disqualifying action,” he said.
Despite the slap, Kelce played on and ended up scoring a touchdown on Friday night.
Ahead of the NFL season opener, Kelce spoke to the media in São Paulo, Brazil, on Thursday, September 4.
After being asked by ESPN Brazil reporter Paulo Antunes how his “life has changed” since he began dating Swift, 35, Kelce joked, “Well, I got one more ring from it.”
The remark was a reference to the three Super Bowl rings Kelce has from the Chiefs’ victories in 2020, 2022 and 2023.
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“Ever since I’ve been dating Taylor, life has been fun,” Kelce said on Thursday. “It’s been exciting. Obviously, a lot more eyes and I accept that. I’m living life. Living on a high, I guess.”
The couple revealed their engagement via an Instagram post shared on August 26.
Kelce also spoke about how excited he was to travel to Brazil alongside his Chiefs teammates and the opportunity to bond the trip provides.
“You get to hang out around the guys and the team,” he said. “This is something we’ll all remember. You’re just kind of in the moment and excited to play some football tomorrow. You know, just enjoying the process and enjoying the experience with the guys.”
