Jason Kelce made a crass joke about his weight just minutes into his highly anticipated ESPN debut on Monday night.
He was introduced by host Scott Van Pelt, who revealed Kelce had to buy a shirt at the mall for his appearance on television tonight after misplacing his travel bag.
‘It fits my belly now I’ve lost a little bit of weight but my t**s are still struggling,’ Kelce said.
Plenty of fans found it funny but others felt Kelce should be warned about his comments on live television.
‘Yea he has to get it together,’ said one fan on X, seemingly in response to Kelce’s start.
Another said: ‘That’s not bad. He should be more careful next time.’
A different viewer thought Jason’s start was brilliant, writing: ‘Ok Jason Kelce said t**s within minutes of being on Monday Night Football. To be clear he was talkin about his own. Salut King.’
And another viewer who was not offended was his younger brother Travis, who tweeted about his brother: ‘What a natural!!’
“@JasonKelce is wearing a shirt he got at the mall because he left his travel bag in the truck.”
—@notthefakeSVP pic.twitter.com/57Gc25IH7U
— ESPN (@espn) September 9, 2024
Kelce responded to the viral moment on X, when a fans asked him: ‘Jason, can you says ‘t**s’ on TV?’
He said: ‘I don’t know, did they bleep it?’
Van Pelt revealed that Kelce had a last-minute fashion drama ahead of his television debut, telling viewers: ‘We are thrilled to welcome six-time first team All-Pro NFL selection, future gold jacket wearer and he’s got a podcast that apparently is doing fairly well.
Surprised he bought a new one and didn’t just go shirtless https://t.co/7HiTQm8uJZ
— Travis Kelce (@tkelce) September 9, 2024
‘And all that said, Jason Kelce is wearing a shirt he got at the mall because he left his travel bag in the truck. He left the travel bag at the truck.’
And as Kelce made his joke about his appearance, Van Pelt looked at the camera laughing and almost shrugged, with his arms outstretched.
Travis later offered another comment through X about his brother’s clothes, writing: ‘Surprised he bought a new one and didn’t just go shirtless.’
But aside from a controversial start, Kelce settled right in with ESPN and fans were ultimately in agreement with Travis calling him a natural.
Jason announced that he was retiring from football in early March, sparking a scramble for television networks to appoint him as an analyst.
He had played 13 seasons in the NFL, winning one Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles.
He made a tearful announcement at the beginning of March to say that he was stepping away from the game. Travis was sat in the audience and cried with his brother as he confirmed his retirement.
