Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs is making a habit out of a certain postgame activity, and some in the NFL aren’t too happy about it. On Sunday, December 14, Kelce and the Chiefs lost their critical game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Arrowhead Stadium with a 16-13 final tally.
With that loss, the Kansas City Chiefs are officially out of the postseason for the first time during the Patrick Mahomes era. It’s not a place where the Kansas City Chiefs are used to being, and now, they’re focused on the future of the franchise and how to get back to the big game next season.
But, for Kelce, the game was extra heartbreaking, because this may be his last season in the NFL. While Kelce hasn’t announced a decision on whether he’ll stay with the Chiefs for one more season or retire in January, either way, he certainly wanted this season to end a different way. With those emotions after the loss to the Chargers, Kelce made a decision that some didn’t like.
NFL Personality Calls Out Travis Kelce After Kansas City Chiefs Loss
On Wednesday, December 17, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo called out Kelce for not talking to the media after the team’s 16-13 loss to the Chargers. Russo even put Kelce’s popular “New Heights” podcast on blast.
During an appearance on ESPN’s “First Take,” Russo said he was frustrated Kelce didn’t take the time to speak to the press after the loss.
“I could care less about his stupid podcast, but how about Kelce on Sunday afternoon?” Russo said on the show. “They just lose the game and Mahomes tears his ACL. The last play of the game, [Gardner] Minshew goes to Kelce to try to kick a field goal and gets intercepted. Kelce, after he settles down in the locker room, says, ‘Not today fellas, I’m not going to talk to you.’ The media.”
He added that the media are “these poor guys who have been covering the Chiefs for years, who go to every training camp practice, every preseason game. Every day for seven months they cover the football team and you blow them off at the end of this game when they got Mahomes out, maybe the last game you’re ever going to play.”
He added, “You’re not going to give them three words. You can’t give them, ‘Terrible day for us. I don’t know what I’m going to do with my career. Hope Pat will be OK,’ when you’re walking out the door? You say, ‘Not today,’ and you don’t talk to the press.”
Travis Kelce’s ‘New Heights’ Podcast Gets Criticized
At the end of the segment, Russo also said that no “serious sports fan” listens to “New Heights.” He reiterated that this was a special situation, and he feels the media deserved the respect of getting some time with Kelce.
“This is a situation here where it’s a Sunday afternoon where we want to hear from you,” he said. “Mahomes is out for the year, you may not play again. The season’s over. You lost and you’re not making the playoffs.”
It’s true that with the Chiefs’ out of the playoffs and Mahomes’ season-ending ACL and LCL injury, it would have been a prime time for Kelce to talk to the press. Plus, according to NFL rules, the league requires that players be available after the games. Sure, losses are heartbreaking, but for the millions that Kelce is getting paid, it seems reasonable that he could be a big boy and open up in that difficult moment.
