During the first half of the Super Bowl game on Sunday night, a tense moment occurred when Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce yelled at and shoved the team's head coach Andy Reid. Now Travis is addressing the incident.
The moment came after the Chiefs fumbled the ball while down 3–0 to the San Francisco 49ers. In the end, the Chiefs would prove victorious, winning 25–22.
Immediately following the game, Travis told ESPN of the incident, "Imma keep it between us unless my mic'd up tells the world. But I was just telling him how much I love him."
"Imma keep it between us ... I was just telling him how much I love him."
Now, in a new conversation with his brother, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, on their podcast New Heights, Travis is opening up about the moment and admitting he took it too far with Reid.
Calling the conversation with his head coach "so heated," Travis said that Reid later told him he "got him with a cheap shot." Travis then said he gets why people are "all over" this moment.
"You crossed a line. I think we both can agree on that," Jason said, to which Travis agreed.
"I did. 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 just like 'oh shit' in my head. Damn," Travis said.
Jason, who attended the game alongside their mother Donna Kelce, responded, "Let's be honest, the yelling in his face, too, is over the top. I think there's better ways to handle this retrospectively."
"Yeah, I know," Travis said. "I'm a passionate guy. I love Coach Reid. Coach Reid knows how much I love to play for him [and] 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 this year, I'm out there with him, man."
Travis then went on to note the uniqueness of his relationship with his head coach and his urge to take on responsibility of getting the Chiefs back in the game. "It came at a moment where we weren't playing very well. I wasn't playing very well, and we had to get some shit going, and sometimes those emotions get away from me, man. That's been the battle of my career," he said.
Things appeared to be smoothed over by the end of the game as the two were hugging while celebrating their win. Travis also noted the they have since discussed and "chuckled about" the moment.
Travis has played for Reid since 2013 when he was drafted by the Chiefs. Together, they've appeared in four Super Bowls, winning in 2020, 2023, and 2024.
Travis further opened up to his brother about the emotional aspect of playing football. "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."
Jason then called Travis's shoving Reid "accidental" before saying, "You came up hot because you were pissed off. Doesn't look great obviously. The optics of it look really bad, but nobody knows your and Big Red's relationship. He's obviously made light of it already."
After the game, Reid told ESPN, "He caught me when I wasn't looking. He didn't know I was going to go that far. He came over and gave me a hug and said, 'Sorry about that.' He just wants to be on the field, and he wants to play. So there's nobody I get better than I get him. He's a competitive kid, and he loves to play. He makes me feel young, but my balance is terrible."
"It's definitely unacceptable, and I immediately wish I [could take] it back," Travis said on his podcast. "Coach Reid actually came right up to me after that and didn't even have harsh words for me. I was ready to get a fucking ass chewing and for him to just tell me to fucking be better."
Instead, Travis said Reid said he loved his "passion" but reminded him that they're on camera during the game. "It just fired me up even more to go out there and get a fucking victory for him man because that's how much I love that dude. So Big Red, sorry if I caught you with that cheap shot, baby."
You can listen to the full New Heights episode below.
