Sports
Jason Kelce apologizes for cellphone incident at Ohio State-Penn State before Bucs-Chiefs game

By Dave Skretta
Updated 11:04 AM EST, November 5, 2024

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Retired Eagles center Jason Kelce apologized during ESPN’s pregame show Monday night after grabbing the phone of an unruly fan and spiking it to the ground before the Ohio State-Penn State game last weekend. ... “In a heated moment, I decided to greet hate with hate,” Kelce said before ESPN’s broadcast of the Buccaneers-Chiefs game featuring his brother, Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce. “I fell short this week.”

Jason Kelce was attending the Big Ten matchup between the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions in State College, Pennsylvania, on Saturday when the incident occurred. Video on social media showed him walking through a crowd near Beaver Stadium and fans asking for photos and fist bumps when one fan began to heckle him and appeared to shout an anti-gay slur directed toward his brother for dating Taylor Swift.

At that point, Kelce grabbed the fan’s phone and threw it to the ground, then turned to confront the man dressed in Penn State attire. Kelce appeared to use the same anti-gay slur during the exchange before another fan stepped between them before the altercation could escalate.

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