Former Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro center Jason Kelce found himself at the center of controversy last month on the campus of Penn State University following an appearance on ESPN's "College GameDay."
As Kelce was leaving campus, he was followed by a group of autograph-seeking fans, one of which decided to verbally berate Kelce as he was walking away while insulting his brother Travis Kelce and his girlfriend Taylor Swift.
"Hey Kelce, how does it feel that your brother is a [expletive] dating Taylor Swift?" the heckler yelled seconds before Kelce turned around and grabbed his phone, spiked it on the ground and picked it up and walked away with it.
The fan followed Kelce, trying to get his phone back. He knocked it out of his hands but the 6-foot-3, 295-pound Kelce grabbed it again and shouted at the heckler, "Who's the [expletive] now?"
Kelce issued a public apology a few days later to open ESPN's "Monday Night Countdown," where he stated he wasn't proud of his actions or how he handled the situation. ESPN chose not to discipline him for the incident.
"Listen, I'm not happy with anything that took place," Kelce stated. "I'm not proud of it. In a heated moment, I chose to greet hate with hate, and I just don't think that's a productive thing."
Well, Kelce got some good news on Tuesday as Penn State police confirmed to TMZ Sports that he won't be facing any legal repercussions either as they had officially closed their investigation.
"The individual in the video footage circulating on social media has not been identified, and no one has come forward to University Police with a related complaint about damage to personal property," a police spokeswoman stated.
Other than one brief video captured by a social media user of the fan looking into the camera yelling that Kelce had destroyed his phone, there isn't much else police could use to identify the fan, who hasn't been heard from since the incident happened.
Kelce was involved in another viral fan altercation a few weeks later as he was leaving a television studio following an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live."
As he was getting into his car to leave, an unruly fan (who was also seeking an autograph) unleashed an expletive-filled tirade at him because he wasn't signing autographs outside the studio.
After some back-and-forth bickering, Kelce ultimately went over and signed some autographs for the fan and a few others while deescalating the situation.
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This story was originally published December 10, 2024, 7:56 AM.