Jason Kelce apologized on air after he was seen angrily smashing a fan’s phone over the weekend, but fans believe he has nothing to regret.
Kelce, who was at Penn State on Saturday to appear on ESPN’s College GameDay, was walking through a crowd of people when a man called his brother Travis ‘f*****’ for dating Taylor Swift.
After hearing the vile insult, the Philadelphia Eagles legend responded by grabbing the fan’s phone, slamming it to the ground and yelling, ‘Who the fuck is now?’
Reports emerged claiming that Penn State police are investigating the incident just hours before Kelce appeared on ESPN’s Monday Night Football for his brother Travis and the Kansas City Chiefs’ game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
And at the beginning of the broadcast, he apologized to viewers for “not meeting” their usual levels of “common decency and respect.”
Jason Kelce apologized on air for smashing a fan’s phone over the weekend
“I think everyone has seen on social media what happened this week,” Kelce said. ‘Listen, I’m not happy with anything that happened. I’m not proud of it.
‘In a heated moment I chose to greet hate with hate and I just don’t think it’s a productive thing to do, I really don’t. I don’t think it leads to discourse and it’s the right way to approach things. At that moment I fell to a level that I shouldn’t have.
‘The bottom line is that I try to live my life by the golden rule, that’s what I’ve always been taught; I try to treat people with common decency and respect, and will continue to do so in the future.
“Even though I fell short this week, I will do it in the future and continue to do it.”
Although after hearing him express his regret over the incident, fans took to social media to defend Kelce and insist that he did nothing wrong that day.
Several users, including Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, were left furious by his apology before the Chiefs vs. Bucs game, with some attacking ESPN and accusing the network of making it happen.
Portnoy said on X: ‘The only thing Kelce should have apologized for is maybe using the F-word.’ But anyone with a brain knows that he was simply repeating what he was told. If she had called him “ap***y, b***h, moron,” that would have been the word she used. The golden rule was applied perfectly. “He treated that guy exactly how he deserved to be treated.”
Kelce reacted angrily when a fan called his brother Travis ‘fucked up’ at the Penn State game on Saturday.
After slamming his phone down, he walked away with it before saying, ‘Who the fuck is it now?’
One fan also wrote: ‘Jason Kelce shouldn’t have to apologize for defending his brother. We love you’.
Another posted: ‘Fuck ESPN for making Jason Kelce apologize on air. That man didn’t do anything wrong.
‘Jason Kelce shouldn’t apologize!’ said a third fan. ‘Some idiot said some disrespectful things and you acted at the time as you saw fit! Don’t apologize or bend the knee!’
A fourth commented: ‘@JasonKelce you had nothing to apologize for but I’m sure you had to do it because of your employer. That idiot should have gotten worse on you.
While one said simply: “Not a single person on the planet needs an apology from Jason Kelce.”
Kelce, who turns 38 on Tuesday, has received widespread support since the images went viral on social media over the weekend.
The Kelce family has yet to publicly respond to the incident, but a source close to Travis and Taylor told DailyMail.com on Saturday night that the couple is proud of Jason for standing up for them.
Travis and his girlfriend Taylor Swift were proud of Jason for standing up for them that day.
‘“Taylor and Travis were really surprised by this considering Jason is one of the nicest guys in the world,” the source said.
‘It really became clear how much he loves and respects Taylor. Travis means a lot to him.
‘The use of the word fuck is not okay for him or anyone else. This fan crossed the line. “Jason will never tolerate anyone insulting his family and now sees Taylor as family.”