Jason Kelce showed a Penn State football fan on Saturday what can happen if he’s pushed too far.
Prior to the No. 3 Nittany Lions’ clash with No. 4 Ohio State in State College, a fan taunted Kelce with a homophobic slur directed at his brother, Travis, and his relationship with pop superstar Taylor Swift.
Kelce, who was in State College to appear on ESPN’s “College GameDay,” was followed by a fan who said to him, “Kelce, how does it feel that your brother is a f***** for dating Taylor Swift?”
The former NFL lineman responded by turning around, taking the fan’s phone, smashing it to the ground and taking it away.
Here’s a clip of the incident from a different vantage point, during which the slur can be clearly heard.
(Warning: Offensive language is audible in the video.)
Another video showed that Kelce didn’t just walk away after smashing the phone. He turned around and confronted the fan with the same anti-gay slur in response, which could potentially lead to some backlash.
Jason Kelce has been nearly ubiquitous on football broadcast coverage and advertising this season since retiring after playing 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. But his public profile has been raised significantly due to his brother’s relationship with Swift, which has made Travis Kelce a major pop culture figure.
The Kelce brothers’ podcast, “New Heights,” has exploded in popularity. In August, the two signed a three-year deal worth more than $100 million for an exclusive ad sales and distribution rights agreement with Amazon’s Wondery podcast network.
Unfortunately, that popularity and high public profile has also made them a target for insults and derision from fans looking to provoke a reaction and perhaps create a viral moment on social media.
If that’s what the fan intended, it’s certainly what happened Saturday. However, the incident didn’t go viral in the manner that the aggressively obnoxious heckler likely anticipated. Fans on social media are asking whether or not Kelce committed robbery by taking the phone or if his actions were justified due to harassment. Perhaps there could be fallout from this incident.
