Penn State’s James Franklin comments on the Jason Kelce incident outside Beaver Stadium

Jason Kelce was involved in an incident Saturday with a fan who used homophobic slurs to describe his brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, during his visit to State College for Penn State’s game against Ohio State.

During his press conference on Monday, James Franklin commented on the incident.

Images from social media showed Kelce, the former Philadelphia Eagles center and current ESPN personality, as he walked through the crowd outside Beaver Stadium. One fan started heckling Kelce. The fan, who was wearing a Penn State sweatshirt, threw anti-LGBTQ insults at Kelce.

“Hey Kelce! How does it feel that your brother is a (expletive) for dating Taylor Swift?

Kelce turned around, grabbed the phone off the fan and threw it on the floor. Then he picked up the phone and continued walking with it. Another video shared on social media showed the fan chasing Kelce and asking for his phone back. Kelce responded, “Who is the (expletive) now?”

Franklin, speaking about fans’ frustrations surrounding Penn State’s 20-13 loss to Ohio State, said frustrations can sometimes “go too far.” Franklin then brought up the Kelce incident.

“I saw something with Jason Kelce,” Franklin said. “Jason Kelce came to State College. I wanted him to have a great experience. I didn’t get a chance to meet or see him. I saw something that I wasn’t very proud of. I wish that didn’t happen.

“But there’s also, in 2024, I love that there was a consequence for that person’s actions. Can things sometimes go too far? We talk about passion and how all those things are great, yes. Sometimes that is no excuse for bad behavior.”

Kelce has not discussed the incident on social media or publicly. His podcast “New Heights” with his brother Travis has yet to release a new episode this week.