Over the weekend, a person on Penn State's campus called Travis Kelce, Jason Kelce's brother, a homophobic slur while Jason was walking through a crowd of people. Jason responded by turning around, grabbing the person's cell phone, and throwing it on the ground before picking it up and attempting to walk away. Moments later, Kelce again turned back to the person and said, ‘Who's the f—-t now?'.
While many have since defended Jason for his use of the slur considering the context, he apologized for saying it on ‘Monday Night Countdown' before Travis and the Kansas City Chiefs played the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And today, Jason again addressed the incident at the beginning of the latest episode of the ‘New Heights' podcast.
“I'm not happy about the situation. Me reacting gave him the time of day and it also gave this situation notoriety, that's what I regret,” Jason said. “It didn't deserve attention, it's really stupid, and if I just keep walking, it's a nothingburger. Now, it's out there and it just perpetuates more hate. The thing that I regret the most is saying that word, to be honest with you. The word he used, it's just f—–g ridiculous and it takes it to another level. It's just off the wall and f—–g over the line. It's dehumanizing and it got under my skin and elicited a reaction.
“And in the heat of the moment, I thought in my head, ‘Hey, what can I say back to him? I'm going to throw that s–t right back in his face because f–k 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. I think what I do regret is that now there's a video that is very hateful that is now online that has been seen by millions of people, and I share fault in perpetuating it and having it out there.”
Travis Kelce comments on Jason Kelce's controversial phone-smashing incident
Travis and Taylor Swift, his girlfriend, were both named by the person who used the homophobic slur toward Jason. And Travis, after listening to Jason's comments to begin the ‘New Heights' episode, gave his thoughts on his older brother defending him.
“I know it's weighing on you brother, that s–t sucks,” Travis said. “You shouldn't feel this much — obviously, the scrutiny and the media view on it and everybody passing around the videos that are being out there. That's gonna make it a bigger situation than, I think, what it really is. But the real situation is you had some f—–g clown come up to you and talk about your family and you reacted in a way that was defending your family. And you might have used some words that you regret using. And that's a situation where you just kinda have to learn from and own. And I think you owning it and speaking about it shows how sincere you are to a lot of people in this world and shows that, especially what you said on Monday night, you choose not to f—–g — you don't choose hate, that's just not who you are.”
Penn State University Police and Public Safety say they are investigating the incident involving Jason, with the offenses being listed as criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.
With his older brother in attendance Monday, Travis caught 14 passes for 100 yards in a 30-24 overtime Chiefs win. It marked the first time this season that Travis has reached the 100-yard mark in any game, and he also became the oldest player in NFL history to record 14 receptions in a game.
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