Jason Kelce apologizes for phone incident, Travis Kelce offers support on podcast
On Wednesday, former All-Pro center Jason Kelce took to his popular podcast to share his regret over an incident that occurred over the weekend at Penn State.
The situation was captured on video, showing Kelce reacting to a fan who hurled a homophobic slur at his brother Travis. In response, Kelce snatched the heckler’s phone and smashed it on the ground.
During the latest episode of their “New Heights” podcast, Jason described the event as “a really stupid situation” that spiraled out of control.
“By reacting, I gave him attention and also made the situation more infamous,” he reflected. “I realize now that I should have ignored it, as now there’s a video out with me and him using that word, which is harmful for everyone.”
Kelce was at Penn State on Saturday for ESPN’s “College GameDay” and was engaging with fans when one of them made a derogatory comment regarding his brother’s relationship with Taylor Swift.
The Penn State University Police and Public Safety is currently looking into the episode.
Kelce acknowledged that his actions were “over the line” when he took the fan’s phone and threw it to the ground, and audio from the incident captured him saying, “Who’s the (expletive) now?”
He admitted that repeating the slur was an error because “it only spreads more hate.”
During the podcast, Travis adopted an empathetic stance.
“You reacted to defend your family, and while you might have used some regrettable words, it’s a situation you have to learn from and take ownership of. Your acknowledgment and discussion of it demonstrate your sincerity to many people. … You don’t endorse hate; that’s not who you are. I love you brother, and I think you expressed that perfectly.”