Jason Kelce about telephone incident: ‘I chose to greet hate with hate’

Jason Kelce expressed regret Monday night for choosing to “greet hate with hate” after turning on a fan’s cellphone outside Beaver Stadium before Saturday’s Ohio State-Penn State game in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Kelce, the former Philadelphia Eagles center-turned- a member of ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown” crewwas on campus to participate in a “College GameDay” event for the network. In video footage circulating on social media of Kelce greeting fans outside the stadium, a man can be heard shouting an anti-gay slur, referring to Kelce’s brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelcefor “dating Taylor Swift.”

Jason Kelce then turns around and grabs a phone from someone’s hand – presumably the heckler’s – and slams it into the ground. Another video shows Kelce in a heated argument with the man, using the same slur at him multiple times.

The Penn State University Police Department and Public Safety Department are investigating the incident.

Kelce discussed the matter at the start of Monday night’s broadcast, before his brother Travis’ Chiefs team hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“I think everyone on social media saw everything that happened this week,” Kelce said. “Listen, I’m not happy with what happened. 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, really. I don’t think this will lead to any discussion and that it is the right way to go about things. At that point I dropped to a level I shouldn’t have.

“So I guess the bottom line is I try to live my life by the golden rule, that’s what I’ve always been taught. I try to treat people with common decency and respect, and I will continue to do that, even though I fell short this week.”

ESPN declined to comment for this article.

Jason Kelce is a seven-time Pro Bowl center who previously played all of his thirteen NFL seasons with the Eagles retired last season. The outgoing, shaggy-bearded Philadelphia icon has risen to national fame in recent years, appearing in numerous TV commercials and host of the ‘New Heights’ podcast with his brother.

Travis Kelce is a nine-time Pro Bowler who has been in a relationship with pop music superstar Swift for more than a year.