Current:Home > FinanceJason Kelce Shares What He Regrets Most About Phone-Smashing Incident -MoneyBase
Jason Kelce Shares What He Regrets Most About Phone-Smashing Incident
View
Date:2025-04-14 21:27:10
Jason Kelce has some regrets.
Days after a video of him smashing the phone of a man who allegedly called his brother Travis Kelce a homophobic slur over his romance with Taylor Swift vent viral, the former Philadelphia Eagles player is speaking out.
"I'm just gonna address it," Jason told his brother in the Nov. 6 episode of their New Heights podcast. "I feel like it needs one more time and then hopefully we can stop talking about this really stupid situation."
"I'm not happy about the situation, me reacting gave him the time of day and it also gave the situation notoriety," Jason told his brother. "That's what I regret. It didn't deserve attention, it's really stupid."
The father of three added that he wishes he simply hadn't reacted to the heckler.
"If I just keep walking, it's a f--king nothingburger, nobody sees it," Jason said. "Now, it's out there and it just perpetuates more hate."
During the Nov. 2 incident outside of Beaver Stadium at Penn State University, a man approached Jason with his phone up and asked, "Kelce, how does it feel that your brother is a [homophobic slur] for dating Taylor Swift?"
The ESPN NFL analyst then turned around and responded, "Who's the [homophobic slur] now?" before smashing the man's phone.
The 36-year-old continued saying that the "thing that I regret the most is saying that word to be honest with you. The word he used it's just f--king ridiculous, and it takes it to another level. It's just off the wall, f--king over the line."
"It's dehumanizing and it got under my skin, it elicited a reaction," Jason went on. "In the heat of the moment, I thought 'Hey, what can I say back to him? I'm going to throw this s--t right back in his face. F--k him.' What I do regret, is now there's a video that is very hateful, that is now online that has been seen by millions of people and I share fault in perpetuating it and having that out there."
Travis backed his older brother up, praised him for owning his mistakes and and urged him to use the situation as a learning lesson.
"The real situation is you had some f--king clown come up to you and talk about your family and you reacted in a way that was defending your family, and you might've used some words that you regret using," he shared. "That's a situation you've just got to learn from and own. I think you owning it and you speaking about it shows how sincere you are to a lot of people in this world."
The Kansas City Chiefs player went on to vouch for Jason's character, telling him, "You don't choose hate, that's just not who you are. I love you brother, I think you said that perfectly."
Jason had previously broken his silence on the incident during ESPN's Nov. 4 episode of Monday Night Countdown.
"I'm not happy with anything that took place. I'm not proud of it," he said. "And in a heated moment, I chose to greet hate with hate, and I just don't think that that's a productive thing."
"I don't think that it leads to discourse and it's the right way to go about things," Jason continued. "In that moment, I fell down to a level that I shouldn't have. So, I think the bottom line is, I try to live my life by the golden rule—it’s what I've always been taught—I try to treat people with common decency and respect, and I'm going to keep doing that moving forward, even though I fell short this week."
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (212)
Related
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- WWE Clash at the Castle 2024: Time, how to watch, match card and more
- Florida A&M, a dubious donor and $237M: The transformative HBCU gift that wasn’t what it seemed
- How Taylor Swift Supported Travis Kelce & Kansas City Chiefs During Super Bowl Ring Ceremony
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Report uncovering biased policing in Phoenix prompts gathering in support of the victims
- New initiative tests nonpartisan observation in Missoula primary
- The definitive ranking of all 28 Pixar movies (including 'Inside Out 2')
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Woman fatally struck by police truck on South Carolina beach
Ranking
- The FTC says 'gamified' online job scams by WhatsApp and text on the rise. What to know.
- Here’s what to know about a stalled $237M donation to Florida A&M
- From 'Hit Man' to 'Brats,' here are 10 movies you need to stream right now
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Bubble Pop (Freestyle)
- Working Well: When holidays present rude customers, taking breaks and the high road preserve peace
- G7 leaders tackle the issue of migration on the second day of their summit in Italy
- 'Sopranos' doc reveals 'truth' about the ending, 'painful' moments for James Gandolfini
- Wells Fargo fires workers after allegedly catching them simulating keyboard activity
Recommendation
The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
Vietnam War veteran comes out as gay in his obituary, reveals he will be buried next to the love of my life
Ditch Your Heavy Foundation for These Tinted Moisturizers & Tinted Sunscreens This Summer
The RNC is launching a massive effort to monitor voting. Critics say it threatens to undermine trust
Israel lets Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for first time in over a year as cease
Tejano singer and TV host Johnny Canales, who helped launch Selena’s career, dies
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Bubble Pop (Freestyle)
How Isabella Strahan Celebrated the End of Chemotherapy With Her Friends and Family