Travis Kelce is under fire for his recent attire before last Sunday's game.
Kelce, along with several other Kansas City Chiefs players, wore a “Free 4” shirt referencing their teammate, Rashee Rice's jersey number. Among the players who wore the shirts to the warm-up before the Chiefs took on the Philadelphia Eagles were wide receivers Tyquan Thornton and Hollywood Brown.
The NFL suspended Rice for the first six games of the 2025 season, following his 2024 car crash that injured several others. Rice was sentenced to 30 days in jail in July for the crash in Dallas, as well as five years probation.
Rice, who was driving a Lamborghini SUV along the shoulder of the freeway, was racing a Corvette at speeds of more than 115 mph on the shoulder of the highway. The crash happened in March when the two vehicles lost control and hit four other cars, according to KDFW-TV. Rashee The crash resulted in injuries to several people resulting in injuries to multiple people. In one of the vehicles that was hit, two children, ages 3 and 4, were inside; however, they were not injured. Rice and two other men were seen leaving the scene and did not stay to help the victims.
“It is actually absurd that Travis Kelce would wear this shirt. Rashee Rice was driving at 191 kph and caused a crash that injured multiple people yet this dope rocks a shirt in support…..,” one fan wrote on X, adding that he should discuss it on his podcast, New Heights, that he hosts with his brother Jason Kelce.
“Bro could’ve killed someone and ran away… but 6 weeks of not being able to ge road millions to play a sport is too excessive? Give me a break,” another fan reacted.
A lawyer for one of the victims of the crash blasted Kelce for wearing the shirt.
“I respect that Kelce and Thornton support their teammate, but the ‘gym teacher' needs to talk with the history teacher,” Marc Lenahan, the lawyer of Kathryn Kuykendall, told TMZ, calling out Kelce and Taylor Swift's engagement caption.
“Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” the couple captioned their engagement announcement on Aug. 26.
Andy Reid defended his players amid the backlash that they are simply showing their love for Rice.
“I would tell you I know these guys love Rashee, and they feel for him sitting out here and I think it’s no more than that,” Reid said during media availability. “I just think that those guys, they love the kid and want him to feel part of it in their own way. I really don’t think it’s anything more than that.”
Patrick Mahomes on Travis Kelce missing pass during Eagles game
The Chiefs are having an unusual start to their season with a record of 0-2 after losing to the Chargers and most recently the Eagles on Sunday. One play in particular stood out as a missed opportunity when Kelce fumbled catch and Eagles' rookie safety Andrew Mukuba was able to gain possession in the fourth quarter which resulted in the Eagles to gain a 20-10 lead.
Patrick Mahomes blamed his throw to Kelce which he said should have been “low” when speaking with reporters after the game: “Just trying to put it on his body low before that hole player got there. I think if I can put it more on his body, and not so far out in front of him, then he can catch it, take the hit, and get in the end zone.”
“You know, whenever you’re in those tight quarters like that, you wanna get it to him, especially a bigger guy, more on his body where he can catch it and brace for that contact,” he continued.
The Super Bowl rematch ended in 20 – 17 but the Chiefs have an opportunity to turn their slow start around when they hit the road for their next game against the New York Giants on Sunday, Sept. 21 at 8:20 p.m.
