Jason Kelce wishes his temper hadn’t gotten the better of him when he confronted a foul-mouthed heckler outside of a college football game on Saturday.
The retired NFL center addressed the now-viral incident at the top of this week’s “Monday Night Countdown,” admitting he wasn’t “proud” of what transpired ahead of the battle between Penn State and Ohio State.
In widely circulated videos of the scuffle, an angry Kelce is seen swatting a phone out of a man’s hand after the man had badgered him with crude questions about his brother, Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, who is in a relationship with pop star Taylor Swift.
After the man had followed Jason Kelce through a crowd and called his younger brother a “faggot,” the former Philadelphia Eagles player whipped around, smashed the man’s phone and snapped back with the same anti-gay slur.
🚨JUST IN: #NFL legend Jason Kelce just apologized on ESPN for the incident that happened over this weekend.
“I chose to greet hate with hate, and I just don't think that's a productive thing.” pic.twitter.com/o6xmJbF4NU
Though other footage seemed to show the heckler hounding Kelce ahead of the confrontation, the sports anchor still apologized to his fans for losing his cool.
“I’m not happy with anything that took place. I’m not proud of it,” he told ESPN viewers. “In a heated moment, I chose to greet hate with hate, and I just don’t think that’s a productive thing, I really don’t.”
“I don’t think that it leads to discourse and it’s the right way to go about things,” he added. “And in that moment, I fell down to a level that I shouldn’t have.”
“The bottom line is, I try to live my life by the golden rule, that’s what I’ve always been taught,” Kelce said. “I try to treat people with common decency and respect, and I’m going to keep doing that moving forward.”
Your Support Has Never Been More Critical
Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.
Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.
Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest — we could use your help again. We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.
Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.
You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest — we could use your help again. We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.
Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.
Support HuffPost
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
On Monday, People magazine reported that the Penn State University Police were looking into the weekend incident.
Authorities did not say whether Kelce or the other man was being investigated.
English (US) ·