Travis Kelce said his brother, Jason Kelce, was protecting his family when he responded to a heckling fan by throwing his phone to the ground on Saturday. The brothers discussed the incident, which led to an investigation by Penn State police and included Jason exchanging homophobic slurs with fans on an episode of the “New Heights Podcast” released Wednesday.
“I know this is heavy on you, bro. … Everybody is spreading the footage out there. It’s going to make things bigger than I think they actually are,” Travis said on the podcast.
“But the reality is, a clown comes up to you and talks about your family, and you react by defending your family. You probably used some words that you regret using. In that case, you have to Learn from it and accept it.
Jason, a former Philadelphia Eagles center, was in State College for College GameDay, with Saturday’s game between Penn State and Ohio State also in town. Outside Beaver Stadium, a fan can be heard in the video walking behind Jason and using a homophobic slur about Swift and Travis’ relationship. A fan said: “Kyles, how do you feel about your brother being a master at dating Taylor Swift?”
Jason then turned around and appeared to pick up the foul-mouthed fan’s phone before throwing it to the ground. The fan asked Jason to give him his phone back, to which Jason responded: “Who’s a fan now?”
Jason Kelce previously addressed the incident on ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown” and said he was “not proud of it.” In the podcast, he expressed further remorse, saying he was “not happy with the situation.”
“My response gave him time and the notoriety of the situation,” Jason said. “That’s my regret. It didn’t deserve attention. It was just so stupid. If I had kept going, the burger would have been nothing. No one saw it. Now that it’s out there, it just perpetuates more hatred.
“Honestly, the thing I regret most is saying that. To use that word (fan), it’s so ridiculous and it takes it to another level. … It’s dehumanizing and it makes me Very annoyed.
Travis praised his brother for “owning” the situation and told Jason that “talking about it shows how genuine you are to a lot of people in this world.”
“Especially what you said Monday night, you… you don’t choose hate. That’s not who you are,” Travis said.
A spokesman for Penn State Police and Public Safety confirmed Tuesday that the department is investigating the incident and that the case review process is ongoing.
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(Photo of Jason and Travis Kelce: Rob Carr/Getty Images)
