Jason Kelce is speaking out once again after a video surfaced of him using the F-slur in a heated interaction with a fan.
Travis Kelce offered his brother the chance to “clear some of the air” at the beginning of the Wednesday, November 6, episode of their “New Heights” podcast.
“I’m just gonna address it because I feel like it needs one more time and then hopefully we can stop talking about this really stupid situation that occurred,” Jason, 37, said. “I’m not happy about the situation. Me reacting gave him the time of day and it also gave the situation notoriety. That’s what I regret. It didn’t deserve attention, it’s really stupid. And if I just keep walking it’s a nothing burger, nobody sees it. Now it’s out there and it just perpetuates more hate.”
He continued, “The thing that I regret the most is saying that word, to be honest with you, and the word he used is just f—ing ridiculous. And it takes it to another level. It’s just off the wall, f—ing over the line. It’s dehumanizing and it got under my skin and it elicited a reaction. In the heat of the moment, I thought, ‘Hey, what can I say back to him? I’m gonna throw this s— right back into his face. F— him.’ I know now that I shouldn’t have done that, because now there’s a video out there with me saying that word, him saying that word, and it’s not good for anybody.”
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Jason emphasized again that his biggest “regret” about the incident “is that now there’s a video that is very hateful that is now online that has been seen by millions of people,” concluding, “I share fault in perpetuating it and having that out there.”
Travis, 35, applauded his brother’s honesty. “The real situation is you had some f—ing clown come up to you and talk about your family and you reacted in a way that was defending your family,” he said. “You might have used some words that you regret using and that’s a situation that you just gotta kind of learn from and own. And I think you owning it and you speaking about it shows how sincere you are to a lot of people in this world.”
Jason raised eyebrows for a now-viral moment that occurred while he was attending the Penn State vs. Ohio State football game in Pennsylvania on Saturday, November 2. In footage shared via social media, Jason was seen walking while surrounded by a crowd of people. A heckler approached and made a homophobic comment about Travis.
“Hey, Kelce. How does it feel your brother’s a f—– dating Taylor Swift?” the person asked.
In response, Jason grabbed the person’s phone and smashed it on the ground. A separate video of the incident shows Jason using the same slur multiple times.
The altercation sparked a debate online, with some fans defending Jason’s reaction to the inappropriate comment. Philadelphia sports radio host Jon Marks, however, wasn’t impressed by Jason’s behavior.
“Kelce has to realize that his profile is bigger than it ever was as a player,” Marks tweeted on Saturday. “He’s making big $$$ across [multiple] platforms and his brother might marry the biggest pop star ever. He can’t be spiking people’s phones. He needs security to deal with this s—.”
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Jason initially addressed the situation during the Monday, November 4, episode of ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown. “I’m not happy with anything that took place. I’m not proud of it,” he said. “Within a heated moment, I chose to greet hate with hate and I don’t think that’s a productive thing. I don’t think it leads to discourse.”
He added, “In that moment I fell down to a level that I shouldn’t have. Bottom line is, I try to live my life by the golden rules. That’s what I’ve always been taught. I try to treat people with decency and respect. I’m going to keep doing that moving forward.”
Us Weekly confirmed on Monday that Penn State University Police are investigating the incident “and the process is ongoing.”
Before Saturday’s chaotic turn of events, Jason appeared on ESPN’s College GameDay, where he was challenged to kick a field goal for hurricane relief funds. He tried — and failed — twice, confessing that he had a newfound respect for kickers after his blunder.
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In October, Jason claimed on an episode of his and Travis’ “New Heights” podcast that “it’s too easy to kick field goals right now” and joked that the position should be made “way less valuable” in football. College GameDay‘s Pat McAfee — a former NFL punter and kickoff specialist — appeared on the podcast later that month and encouraged Jason to “be on the side of kickers.”
Each week on College GameDay, McAfee offers students a cash prize if they can successfully kick a 30-yard field goal. For Jason’s attempt, McAfee said a grand total of $200,000 would be donated to relief efforts.
“No pressure,” McAfee quipped before Jason took another shot at winning the money. “For the people!”
Following Jason’s second miss, McAfee teased, “This guy sucks.”
Jason announced his retirement from the Philadelphia Eagles in March after 13 years playing center for the team.
