On Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs secured their fourth trip to the Super Bowl in just five years when they defeated the Baltimore Ravens 17–10.
But there was a moment before the game even began that went viral, with many left unimpressed by an incident between Ravens kicker Justin Tucker and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
The game took place at the Ravens’ home stadium in Baltimore, and a clash occurred during the pregame when both teams were warming up on the field.
In a video of the incident, Travis’s best friend and teammate, Patrick Mahomes, is dropping back while practicing passes next to Justin, who can be seen sitting on the ground stretching, with his helmet and a ball next to him.
Visibly irritated, Travis walks over and grabs Justin’s belongings before throwing them across the field.
Travis Kelce throwing Justin Tucker’s helmet out of the way 😳
The moment caused a stir amid football fans, with many accusing Travis of showing a lack of “sportsmanship” and being “disrespectful.”
In fact, Travis’s most recent Instagram posts have been flooded with comments from disappointed followers as a result of his behavior, with some even saying that they feel “let down” as fans.
“Wtf so disrespectful throwing Justin Tucker helmet etc off the field like that. Get it together Travis,” one of the comments reads. Somebody else wrote, “Kicking peoples equipment like a fucking child what a joke.”
“Where is your fucking sportsmanship you should be ashamed of yourself,” another user commented. One more said, “Lost all respect.. bullying the kicker? The smallest dude on the team I bet you feel like a big boy now huh?”
“I was a huge fan of yours until yesterday,” somebody else wrote. “I don’t know what got to your head. But you need to sit down. The disrespect from you was unbelievable. Disappointed to say the least. You let me down as a fan.”
But Travis defended his actions on this week’s episode of his and his brother Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast, where he warned, “If you're gonna be a dick, I promise you, I can one-up you every time.”
Explaining what normally happens during a pregame, Travis said that the Ravens and the Chiefs technically had different sides of the field to warm up on, adding, “If you’re trying to go on the other team’s designated area, you kind of stay out of their way. You don’t interfere with what they have going on.”
“That’s the unwritten rule,” he continued. “If you want to be a fucking dick about it, you keep your helmet and your football and your fucking kicking tee right where the quarterbacks are warming up. If you’re not going to pick that up, I’ll happily move that for you.”
He then acknowledged that Justin had taken the situation in his stride and said it was “more of a joking gesture,” with Travis claiming that Justin was “trying to get under the skin."
“We just weren’t in a joking mood,” Travis continued. “So Justin, sorry if we took it to a level that you didn’t think it’d get to, but if you're gonna be a dick, I promise you, I can one-up you every time.”
Travis Kelce on his pregame exchange with Justin Tucker:
“If you wanna be a f***ing dick about it, you keep your helmet, and your football and your f***ing kicking tee right where the quarterbacks are warming up. … Don’t paint me as the bad guy. He was poking the bear.”
But others responded to the clip to point out that Travis’s breakdown of events isn’t entirely accurate, because it’s actually not unusual at all for kickers to warm up on the opposition’s side of the field.
Tucker warming up at London game against Titans at the Titans end. They weren’t dicks about it… pic.twitter.com/1VfZSBMYB8
Not only does Justin do this for every game, but Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker was warming up on the Ravens' side ahead of Sunday's game while Justin was on the Chiefs' side.
Kelce is too narcissistic to realize kicker warm up like this at every game, Butker was on the Ravens side of the field doing the exact same
Pointing this out, one person added that a quarterback can warm up anywhere on the field, while kickers have fewer options. They wrote, “There are only 2 goal posts for a kicker to practice on but there are 100 yards of field for a QB….this isn’t something Tucker just started doing, either.”
There are only 2 goal posts for a kicker to practice on but there are 100 yards of field for a QB….this isn’t something Tucker just started doing, either.
“12 years, a couple hundred games doing the same thing and Kelce is the first person to ever have a problem with it,” somebody else said of Justin’s actions. “Always liked Kelce but he's become very unlikable very fast.”
12 years, a couple hundred games doing the same thing and Kelce is the first person to ever have a problem with it. Always liked Kelce but he's become very unlikable very fast
Several others claimed that Justin had also been in position first, with one football fan tweeting, “TK forgetting to mention the blatant fact that JT was there first and they started warming up directly next to his kit......then started to complain it was in the way.”
TK forgetting to mention the blatant fact that JT was there first and they started warming up directly next to his kit......then started to complain it was in the way
While one more claimed to Travis, “You were taunting the entire game when Tucker is one of the friendliest and most respected guys in the NFL. It's time to show some humility and stop the dramatics.”
You were taunting the entire game when Tucker is one of the friendliest and most respected guys in the NFL. It's time to show some humility and stop the dramatics.
Justin himself opted to downplay the situation when asked about it after the game, saying that the discourse around it is “kind of silly” and that he really doesn’t “see [it] as a big deal.”
