Travis Kelce Moments That Left Everyone Cringing
Travis Kelce seems to be getting far more attention for dating Taylor Swift than he has for his decade-long NFL career. Ever since the Kansas City Chiefs tight end managed to snag the heart of Swift in the summer of 2023 and turn her into an avid football fan, the media has relentlessly followed Kelce's every move.
The NFL star is known for his bold and extroverted attitude, which often gets him in trouble. Not only does he keep it real on his joint podcast venture, "New Heights," alongside his brother and fellow NFL player, Jason Kelce, but his big mouth has often got him in trouble on the football field. Kelce has racked up numerous fines during his NFL career for unsportsmanlike behavior, as he's known to lose his temper over controversial referee calls and game plays.
In typical celebrity fashion, once you've become pop culturally relevant, your every action can become an Internet consequence. Especially since Kelce is dating one of the world's biggest pop stars, it's no question that fans have come to question his more controversial statements and actions. Thankfully, we're pretty sure Kelce knows a thing or two about how to "Shake It Off."
Travis Kelce flunked a drug test during college
Travis Kelce is no stranger to controversy, and he became the center of it in 2010 over a failed drug test. The football star was playing quarterback for the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and admitted his hardcore partying had him missing out on taking the field for the Allstate Sugar Bowl that year. Kelce had been enjoying the New Orleans nightlife a little too much before the big game, leading to his suspension from the team.
"I partied a little too much down there, got hit with a drug test, and from that point on, I realized I gotta tighten the f*** up," he explained on the "Bussin' With the Boys" podcast. Kelce was later demoted to tight end, explaining, "It was like, 'Alright, you can come walk on the team, but we don't need a quarterback. You can just be an athlete on scout team for a year, we'll figure it out.'"
The party boy ended up turning to his older brother, Jason Kelce, who had previously played for the Cincinnati Bearcats, amidst the controversy. The "Catching Kelce" star admitted that without Jason's help, he may not have had a future career in the NFL. "He went into the coach's office and talked to numerous coaches to try and give me another chance," Travis shared. "I'm forever in debt to this guy for putting his name, our name — the Kelce name — on the line. When I say I owe it all to him, I really do."
He accidentally insulted a contestant's outfit on his dating show
Before he was seen out and about with Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce was trying his hand at love on his own reality television dating show. Kelce was the main bachelor of E!'s "Catching Kelce" back in 2016, which had him selecting from 50 women hailing from every state in the U.S. to find his ultimate match. While the Chiefs player ultimately found his match with Maya Benberry, he had dozens of dates throughout the season — and not all of them were easy to watch.
In one clip from the show, Kelce accidentally insulted the outfit of contestant, Victoria D'Ambra, which had a watermelon print. "I'm looking at the suit, and all I can think of is creamed spinach," Kelce shared with his date, to which she replied, "If you were wondering, I'm a watermelon." The NFL star immediately regretted the remark, saying in his confessional, "I felt like as soon as I told her she looked like creamed spinach I told her the worst thing that I could have possibly told her."
Kelce tried to make a save on the cringeworthy date, however, telling her, "Either way, I love creamed spinach," admitting he was "-not a big fan of watermelon." It wasn't enough to save D'Ambra, however, as she eventually was sent home (and will probably never look at watermelons or creamed spinach the same way again).
Kelce flashed a controversial hand gesture during an NFL game
Travis Kelce's temper got the best of him in 2014 when he made an inappropriate hand gesture during an NFL game that made the rounds online. The former reality star overreacted during the fourth quarter of the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos that year after a controversial penalty call was made by a referee as the Broncos were winning 26 to 10.
Broncos linebacker Von Miller was given the penalty after a late hit on the Chiefs' former quarterback, Alex Smith, and he was also given a flag for unnecessary roughness. Kelce was upset over the call and seemed to point at the referee before making an obscene hand gesture. The tight end clarified his actions in a since-deleted tweet (via Mile High Report), writing, "[My] gesture on the TV tonight wasn't towards the ref," adding that Miller "had a cheap shot on my QB, so I thought he deserved a shot to the face."
Fans weren't exactly over the moon with his satirical remarks, with one user reminding the star via a tweet, "Um, Travis Kelce, you're on TV." The "Catching Kelce" lead later deleted his tweet and followed it up with a more polished (yet still sassy) response, writing, "Sorry for that last tweet ... I felt as if I had to clarify my doing, forgot I couldn't express myself on here."
When he played Kiss, Marry, Kill
There was some strange foreshadowing when Travis Kelce played a game of "Kiss, Marry, Kill" in 2016 that had him choosing between one of his future girlfriends. A resurfaced video of his interview with Afterbuzz made the Internet rounds, featuring Kelce being forced to choose between Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and Katy Perry.
For those unfamiliar, the game involves having to select someone to kiss, marry, and kill within the options given. In the clip, Kelce seems visibly uncomfortable and admits, "Damn that's messed up; I don't want to kill any of them." He ultimately decides to kill off Grande, saying, "Love you, but you're gone," before deciding to hypothetically kiss Swift and marry Perry.
While he didn't end up choosing TSwift as his wife, Kelce's strange premonition did come true. The tight end has been doing quite a bit of lip-locking with the "Red" singer, and with Perry off the market, he could potentially be walking down the aisle with Swift after all.
Kelce once called women 'breeders'
While Travis Kelce's relationship with Taylor Swift was a love story many fans were on board for, some Swifties changed their tunes after learning about some controversial comments he made months before meeting the singer. During a February 2023 episode of "New Heights," Travis and his brother, Jason Kelce, were joking alongside their mother, Donna Kelce, about who she would save between her sons in case of an emergency.
"If you choose me, just know that both Wyatt and Elliotte will grow up without a father," Jason joked in the clip. Travis then mentioned that he should start thinking of having children soon, saying, "I gotta start breeding, all the breeders out there." Jason and their mother tried to give cautionary advice, warning him to "wait until you find the right person." But Travis doubled down on his desire to find a partner, saying, "I'm gonna find a breeder, and I'm gonna get kids so that mom can love me again."
Fans of Swift were less than pleased with the cringeworthy comments, and they took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to air out their grievances against the tight end. "Forever grateful that Joe Alwyn kept to himself and is private," one user wrote, adding, "You are free to say what you want but are not free from the consequences of doing so. Women are not objects." Another seconded that notion writing, "Yikes not a fan of that Travis Kelce comment about 'breeding/breeders' super misogynistic. Doesn't matter if it's a joke."
When he threw an embarrassing first pitch
Travis Kelce may be an athlete, but he should probably stick to football when it comes to sports. The NFL star got the honor of throwing the ceremonial first pitch at a Cleveland Guardians baseball game in April 2023, which ultimately cemented that a future MLB career is most likely not in the cards.
In the clip, Kelce throws the ball straight into the ground, with pitcher Shane Bieber unable to grab the ball as it bounces and narrowly misses hitting the team's mascot. Kelce immediately rushed to try and recover the ball, before he laughed off the bad throw with Bieber. The video made the rounds on social media, with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes commenting on the cringeworthy moment. "Ayyyyyy bruhhhhhhhhh," he wrote on X (via Sports Keeda) in response to the clip. Kelce jokingly responded with: "Lmao aye man ... shouldn't have ate that popcorn."
The tight end ultimately redeemed himself a few months later, when he was invited to throw the first pitch at a Kansas City Royals game. In a clip shared on X, Kelce threw the ball in front of several of his teammates while the Royals mascot held up a giant arrow sign pointing to the catcher to avoid another embarrassing pitch. Thankfully, his redemption throw landed safely in the mitt.
Kelce attempted to court Taylor Swift with a friendship bracelet
Most love stories don't begin with friendship bracelets, but in the world of Travis Kelce, anything is possible. The football player admitted that he was crushing on Taylor Swift in the summer of 2023, and attended her Eras Tour stop in Kansas City in the hopes of running into the Grammy award-winning star.
On a July 2023 episode of Kelce's "New Heights" podcast, the Chiefs player admitted his idea didn't exactly go according to plan. "If you're up on Taylor Swift concerts, there are friendship bracelets," he explained, adding, "I wanted to give Taylor Swift one with my number on it." Kelce soon found out that he would have to work a lot harder to earn TSwift's affection, however. "She doesn't meet anybody, or at least she didn't want to meet me, so I took it personal," he joked.
While he didn't get to hand his digits to Swift at her tour stop, the two met soon after, and quickly became a couple. "This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell," Swift told Time. She went on to reveal that she and Kelce started seeing each other immediately after his public comments, but they managed to hide it from the media for a few months. "By the time I went to that first game, we were a couple," she clarified.
His awkward moment with Swift's father
Travis Kelce got Taylor Swift's father's stamp of approval shortly after he started dating the pop star. The NFL player tagged along with Scott Swift to Taylor's Buenos Aires tour stop in November 2023, but an awkward moment between the two men quickly made headlines after the show.
During the show, the "Fearless" singer was in the middle of singing her track, "Karma," when she changed the words, "Karma is the guy on the screen coming straight home to me," to "Karma is the guy on the Chiefs coming straight home to me." Fans caught Kelce covering his eyes in disbelief over the honorary lyric change as he stood next to Scott in the VIP area. Taylor's father turned to the tight end with his hand raised high in the air for a high-five, but Kelce left him hanging, overjoyed while he danced along to the track. While we can't blame Kelce for missing the cue, fans were quick to point out the cringeworthy moment.
Viewers quickly took to X to share their reactions, making light of the awkward (yet endearing) scene. "Travis Kelce leaving Scott Swift hanging for a high five is so f***ing funny like he didn't mean to but he was too busy blushing like a schoolgirl," wrote one user. "I hope Jason makes fun of Travis about this lololol," joked another.
When he screamed at his coach during the Super Bowl
Travis Kelce is known for letting his emotions get the best of him on the football field, and the 2024 Super Bowl was no different. The incident occurred when Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco fumbled the ball, costing the team a touchdown that would've put them in the lead over the San Francisco 49ers. Kelce was on the sidelines at the time, but he quickly grabbed head coach Andy Reid's arm, causing the coach to stumble, and proceeded to scream at him over the play. Many fans online went on to criticize Kelce's temper and interpreted the moment as a red flag.
The tight end recounted the controversial moment on an episode of his "New Heights" podcast, admitting he regretted getting caught up in the heat of the moment. "I'm a passionate guy. I love Coach Reid, Coach Reid knows how much I love to play for him, how much I love to be a product of his coaching career," Kelce shared. He went on to blame his outburst on the pressure of the game, adding that it "came at a moment where we weren't playing very well."
The Chiefs ended up winning the Super Bowl, and Reid and Kelce put the incident behind them. "He keeps me young," Reid joked in a post-game interview on CBS. "He caught me off balance. Normally, I'd give him a little bit, but I didn't have any feet under me."
When a reporter tried to get Kelce to sing Karma
Travis Kelce has endured an endless barrage of Taylor Swift content ever since the two confirmed their relationship. From the NFL milking every possible marketing opportunity to use the singer's music to incessant questions from reporters about their love life, it's no question that the media can't get enough of their star-studded romance.
Such was the case in February 2024 when a reporter brought up Swift's lyric change in her hit track, "Karma." The journalist tried to get Kelce to sing his girlfriend's song change in an interview, resulting in a cringeworthy on-camera moment. "I was wondering if you could help me complete this lyric here," she asked Kelce (via AS), proceeding to sing, "Karma is the guy on the," before Kelce added, "Chiefs, of course." While the reporter asks the NFL star to finish the lyric, hoping he might add "coming straight home to me," the tight end smiled and diverted the conversation by asking, "What's the second question?"
Kelce's awkward reaction didn't seem all that out of place, given the athlete has done his best to remain hush-hush on the particulars of his relationship with TSwift. On an episode of his "New Heights" podcast, Jason Kelce asked him for his thoughts on the NFL's coverage of their relationship. "They're overdoing it a little bit for sure, especially in my situation," Travis shared. "I think they're just trying to have fun with it."
He stole the mic at the Chiefs Super Bowl parade
Travis Kelce had lots of cause to celebrate following his back-to-back Super Bowl wins in 2024, and social media was more than happy to capture it. Following the tight end's big win against the San Francisco 49ers, he was front and center at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade to commemorate the moment alongside his teammates. Not everybody was keen on his victory speech (or musical rendition we should say), however, following the game.
In a video taken during the parade, and shared to X, Kelce hopped on the microphone to give a personal rendition of Garth Brooks's "Friends in Low Places." The Chiefs player seemed to be inebriated, as he stumbled and struggled to sing the correct lyrics to the track before event organizers played the original song to back him up.
While the video garnered lots of mixed reactions, with many questioning who exactly let him have the mic, it warranted a response from the country music legend himself. In a video shared by TMZ Sports, Brooks asks, "Did you guys see Travis Kelce's version of 'Friends in Low Places?'" He admitted that he loved the rendition and even invited the football star to sing it at the grand opening of his Nashville bar, which is named after the song. "I will send a plane," he pleaded to Kelce, jokingly adding that Kelce should perform the version sober. Looks like Kelce may have a bit more in common with his girlfriend than fans originally thought.