Jason Kelce is calling out his brother, Travis Kelce, for his on-the-field behavior during Super Bowl LVIII. The two sibling athletes dropped a new episode of their New Heights podcast on Wednesday, detailing the events of the big game, which took place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sunday.
While Travis' team, the Kansas City Chiefs, beat the San Francisco 49ers in overtime to take home another Super Bowl title, one tense moment between Travis and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid went viral for all the wrong reasons.
Travis was seen shouting in his coach's face and even bumping into him, causing Reid to stumble. During the podcast episode, the brothers addressed the incident head-on.
The 34-year-old tight end said his actions were "definitely unacceptable," and his 36-year-old brother Jason agreed, saying that Travis "crossed a line."
"I think there's better ways to handle this, retrospectively," Jason said. "It doesn't look great, obviously, the optics look really bad, but nobody knows your and Big Red's relationship. He's obviously made light of it already, you guys have already talked about it. I just love when people who don't have anything to f**king do with the situation get all riled up."
Travis replayed the moment on the field, reflecting on the moment.
"I can't get that fired up to the point where I'm bumping Coach, and it's getting him off-balance and stuff. When he stumbled, I was like, 'Oh s**t,' in my head," Travis shared.
Travis added that the moment came from a place of passion and wanting to prove to his coach that he could handle the pressure on the field.
"Yeah, I'm a passionate guy. I love Coach Reid. Coach Reid knows how much I love to play for him, how much I love to be a product of his coaching career," Travis shared. "I'm not playing for anybody else but Big Red. If he calls it quits this year, I'm out of there with him, man. I've got a certain relationship with him."
Travis added that he "immediately" wished he could take the moment back after it happened, and said Reid came up to him afterwards and chose not to chew him out over the moment, saying they even laughed about it.
"It wasn't me mad at Coach Reid as it looks. It was the frustration of our team not having success, turning the ball over, and me being on the sideline," Travis explained. "It was me showing my passion and frustration and letting Coach know he can put it on me, and I'll make sure I get this s**t done. That's what it was."
In post-game interviews, Coach Reid confirmed Travis' comments about his on-the-field actions.
"He keeps me young," Reid, 65, quipped of Travis, adding that he "tested that hip out. He caught me off-balance, normally I give him a little bit, but I didn't have any feet under me."
During the post-game press conference, Reid elaborated on the exchange, saying of Travis, "He was emotional today. I have five kids so I get how that goes."
He also explained Travis' sideline aggression, saying, "The part I love is he loves to play the game and he wants to help his team win. And it's not a selfish thing, that's not what it is. And I understand that. So as much as he bumps into me, I get after him and we understand that. He just caught me off-balance."
Later in the post-game press conference, Travis went on to praise his coach, saying, "I've got the greatest coach this game has ever seen. Unbelievable… He's one of the best leaders of men I've ever seen in my life. He's helped me a lot with channeling that emotion, with channeling that passion, and I owe my entire career to that guy being out of control in how emotional I get. I just love him."
While the viral moment made headlines, Travis clearly had a great game, celebrating the team's victory with his girlfriend, Taylor Swift. Taylor and Travis were photographed locking lips and dancing the night away at a nightclub in Vegas in a series of pics and videos. The "Anti-Hero" singer even posted a funny video of her parents, Andrea and Scott Swift, out at a nightclub with the couple.
For more on Travis' big Super Bowl Sunday, check out the video below.
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