Travis Kelce Finally Responds to Backlash Caused By Viral Super Bowl Meltdown Against Andy Reid
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Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, left, hugs head coach Andy Reid as Tammy Reid looks on after the Chiefs won Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 12, 2023, at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. (Tammy Ljungblad/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Though he tried to remain mum about the moment, Travis Kelce is finally offering additional insight into his most infamous moment from Super Bowl 2024.
While the Kansas City Chiefs ultimately walked away with the Vince Lombardi trophy, the team got off to a rough start, the effects of which were obvious on the sidelines as evidenced by Travis' viral "meltdown," when he was caught on camera knocking into Andy Reid and screaming directly into the head coach's face.
In the aftermath, the tight end elected to keep the pair's words to one another between them, while Reid admitted that Kelce "caught [him] off-balance"—though he lightened the situation by joking, "He keeps me young."
But as the clip continued to cause arguments online about whether Travis' actions were forgivable, leading even Tom Brady to make a statement, Travis and Jason Kelce decided to offer a little more insight into the "heated moment" during the first post-Super Bowl episode of their podcast, New Heights, where Travis acquiesced that he "got him with a cheap shot."
The twice-consecutive Super Bowl champ understands why "people were all over this," admitting that he knew he took things a little too far as soon as "Big Red" stumbled. "Retrospectively," the brothers know there were "better ways to handle this."
"I'm a passionate guy," Travis explained, later assuring listeners that he's not trying to make excuses for the behavior. "I love Coach Reid. Coach Reid knows how much I love the playform, how much I love to be a product of his coaching career. I'm not playing for anybody else but Big Red—if he calls it quits, I'm out of there with him."
As angry as he appeared to be, it wasn't with his superior, but with the fact that neither he nor the team were "playing very well." He continued, "It was the frustration of our team not having success, turning the ball over, and me being on the sideline there...showing my passion and frustration and letting Coach know, he can put it on me. I'll make sure I get [it] done. That's what that was."
But, in the heat of the moment, he said, "Sometimes those emotions get away from me, and that's been the battle of my career." That said, he confirmed, "It's definitely unacceptable and I immediately wished that I— Coach Reid actually came up to me right after that and didn't even have harsh words for me. I was ready to get a chewing and for him to tell me to be better, and he just let me know, 'Hey man. I love your passion, but I got cameras on me all over the place, man. You know, you don't want this to come off...' and it just fired me up even more to go out there and get a victory for him, because that's how much I love that dude. So, Big Red, sorry I caught you with that cheap shot, baby."
Still, Jason warned him to watch his back. "You gotta have your head on a swivel, because next time he gets fired up at you, he's coming hot at you. You know that."
"Oh, yeah, I deserve it," Travis conceded. "If he would've cold-clocked me in the face right there I would've just ate it and been like, 'Yeah, let's...go!' We just love playing..."
And, at the end of the day, the only opinion that matters is his coach's. "I talked to Coach Reid about it today and we kind of chuckled about it," he shared. "I couldn't be more proud of being his product on the field, and I couldn't be more proud of where we've come as a team since I got here in 2013. I love playing for the guy, and, unfortunately, sometimes my passion comes out where it looks like it's negativity, but I'm grateful that he knows it's all because I want to win this thing with him more than anything."
