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Jason Kelce apologizes for role in incident involving heckler's homophobic slur
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Date:2025-04-09 06:09:06
Jason Kelce apologized on his part for an incident he was involved in with an unruly fan during the weekend.
The former Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro was in Pennsylvania on Saturday when he appeared on ESPN's "College GameDay" prior to the Ohio State vs. Penn State matchup. Social media footage showed Kelce walking through a crowd near Beaver Stadium while several people asked for selfies and acknowledged him. However, one person in a Penn State hoodie hurled anti-LGTBQ slurs toward Kelce about his brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
"Hey Kelce! How does it feel your brother is a (expletive) for dating Taylor Swift?" the person shouted.
Kelce turned around, grabbed the fan's phone and spiked it into the ground before picking up the phone and continuing to walk. Another video shared on social media showed the fan chasing Kelce and saying "give me my phone." Kelce then replied, "Who's the (expletive) now?"
Jason Kelce: 'Not proud' of incident
Now an analyst with ESPN's "Monday Night Countdown," Kelce apologized for his role in the incident prior to the Chiefs vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers game on Monday night.
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"Everybody's seen on social media everything that took place this week," Kelce said. "Listen, I'm not happy with anything that took place. I'm not proud of it. In a heated moment, I chose to greet hate with hate, and I just don't think that that's a productive thing.
"In that moment, I fell down to a level that I shouldn't have."
Kelce added he tries to live his life by treating people with decency and respect and he "fell short" of his expectations.
The Super Bowl 52 champion is in Kansas City for ESPN's coverage of the game that includes his brother, who is dating pop icon Swift.
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