Jason Kelce has told brother Travis that he ‘crossed the line’ and went ‘over the top’ after the Kansas City Chiefs star screamed in Andy Reid’s face and almost knocked him to the floor during the Super Bowl. With his girlfriend Taylor Swift watching on at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the tight end was furious he did not receive the ball on a play during the early stages of the game against the San Francisco 49ers.
Heading back to the bench, Kelce got in the face of his 65-year-old coach, before quickly being pulled away by a teammate. Approaching from the side, cameras caught Kelce storming towards the coach and bumping into him, causing him to temporarily lose his footing. Kelce, 34, then grabbed his coach’s arm as he turned to face him, again screaming in his face – before being pulled away by fellow Chiefs player Jerrod McKinnon.
The tight end almost caused Reid to fall over during an incredible touchline meltdown in Vegas
Dissecting the incident on the latest episode of their New Heights podcast, Jason told his brother that his reaction was excessive. Jason said: ‘You crossed the line. Let’s be honest. Even the yelling in his face is over the top, too. There’s better ways to handle this retrospectively.’
Travis agreed, even going as far as to suggest he would walk away from football if Reid retired. The tight end replied: ‘I can’t get that fired up to the point where I’m bumping coach and it’s getting him off balance. When he stumbled I was like “oh s***” in my head. ‘I’m a passionate guy. I love coach Reid. He knows how much I love to play for him, how much I love to be a product of his coaching career.
‘I’m not playing for anybody else but Big Red. If he calls it quits this year then I’m out there with him, man. ‘I’ve got a certain relationship with him. He’s checked me a few times and I just wanted to let him know I wanted this thing and that he can put it on me and I’ve got him. ‘It came in a moment when we weren’t playing very well. I wasn’t playing very well and we had to get some s*** going and sometimes those emotions get away from me, man. That’s been the battle of my career.
‘I don’t give a s*** what anybody else says. I talked to coach Reid about it today and we kind of chuckled about it. ‘I couldn’t be more proud of being his product on the field and I couldn’t be more proud of where we’ve come as a team since I got here in 2013 and I just love playing for the guy, man. ‘Unfortunately, sometimes my passion comes out where it looks like it’s negativity but I’m grateful that he knows it’s all because I want to win this thing with him more than anything.’
Kelce was apoplectic after not being used during the first half of the Super Bowl in Las Vegas
Jason did have some sympathy for this brother, insisting he knew there was never any intention to hurt Reid. The Philadelphia Eagles center said: ‘That’s what fires me up. You didn’t try to push him. You ran up on him and it was accidental you hit him that hard. You came up hot because you were p***ed off.
‘It doesn’t look great, obviously. The optics are bad but he’s made light of it already. ‘You’ve talked about it. I just love when people who don’t have anything to f***ing do with the situation get all riled up. Like, they’re offended. ‘Not the guy who actually was involved in it. People don’t know what your relationship is like or how this went down. No, they’re the ones who get offended. ‘We both know one of our weaknesses is our emotions and one of our strengths is our emotions.’
It was a happy ending for Kelce though as the Chiefs won an overtime thriller 25-22 in Vegas
Travis and the Chiefs rallied to claim a thrilling 25-22 win over the 49ers in overtime, thanks to Mecole Hardman’s decisive touchdown. He once again reiterated how much he loves his coach and regretted his antics on the sideline. Kelce added: ‘It’s definitely unacceptable and I immediately wished I could have taken it back. Coach Reid actually came right up to me after that and didn’t even have harsh words for me.
‘I was ready to get an a**-chewing and he just said “hey man, I love your passion but I’ve got cameras on me all over the place. You don’t want things to come off like that” and it just fired me up even more to get out there and get a f***ing victory for him.’ ‘That’s how much I love him. So Big Red, I’m sorry if I caught you with that cheap shot baby. He’s like a f***ing father to me, man.’
