John Rich Slams Travis Kelce

🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.

John Rich has warned children to avoid being like Travis Kelce after his behavior towards Andy Reid at the Super Bowl.

The Kansas City Chiefs tight end was spotted yelling at the 65-year-old coach on the sidelines after a rough start to the game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. The football star is believed to have been upset over not being included in a crucial red-zone play in the second quarter.

Instead, tight end Noah Gray took to the field. Chiefs' running back Isiah Pacheco fumbled the ball, with Gray unable to block 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir. Kelce grabbed Reid by the arm and appeared to scream in his face, before Chiefs' running back Jerick McKinnon pulled Kelce away. The 34-year-old's behavior left many viewers unimpressed, including Rich.

On Monday night the country singer took to his X account (formerly Twitter) to share a clip of Kelce yelling at Reid and captioned it: "Hey kids, never go #FullKelce."

Newsweek contacted representatives for Kelce and Rich by email Wednesday for comment.

People took to the comments of Rich's post to agree with his sentiment.

"Bad sportsmanship! What a bully!" one X user wrote.

"Had I been the coach, he would have watched the rest of the game from the locker room tv," said another.

"Totally disgusting and he should be fined. I don't care who he thinks he is or how high emotions were running. He has standards to uphold and had no right to do this to his coach or anyone. This should be a huge RED FLAG to @TaylorSwift13 about his " anger" and I hope she sees this!" a third person wrote.

A fourth added: "He should have been kicked out of the game for that unsportsmanlike conduct."

John Rich and Travis Kelce
John Rich on March 24, 2021, in Nashville, Tennessee, and Travis Kelce on February 11, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Rich has taken to social media to criticize Kelce's outburst at the Super Bowl. Jason Kempin/Perry Knotts/Getty Images

However, others took the opportunity to stick up for Kelce.

"For the love of whatever God you choose, never go full John Rich," someone commented.

"Sometimes you have to help the coach to make a better decision. You weren't there, ohh by the way how did it turn out?" another person wrote.

"Never have fire and drive??" someone questioned.

"The coach said it wasn't a big deal at all. He said Kelce was making a case to go back in game because he could score," a different X user explained.

After the Chiefs' victory, Kelce declined to discuss his conversation with Reid when he spoke with ESPN. However, there appears to be no animosity between the two.

"I'm going to keep that between us unless my miked-up tells the world, but I was just telling him how much I love him," Kelce joked.

Speaking to the press after the game, Reid also made light of Kelce's "cheap shot" at him, saying the player caught him off guard when he wasn't looking.

According to Reid, Kelce was telling him: "Just put me in, I'll score, I'll score."

"I love that," the coach told reporters. "It's not the first time, so I appreciate it."

This isn't the first time that Kelce has been called out for his behavior during games. He was slammed for spiking his helmet on the sidelines in December during the Chiefs' clash with the Las Vegas Raiders, with former Chiefs' wide receiver Dante Hall calling the 34-year-old "spoiled."

About the writer

Billie is a Newsweek Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London who has appeared online, in print and on radio. She has extensively covered pop culture, women's rights and lifestyle topics throughout her career and has interviewed numerous celebrities, including Jude Law, Billy Crystal and country singer Lainey Wilson. Originally from Sydney, Australia, Billie moved to London in 2019. She joined Newsweek in 2023 and has previously written for Stylist, Cosmopolitan, Popsugar, Metro.co.uk, The Mirror and Business Insider, just to name a few. She studied Media (Communications and Journalism) at the University of New South Wales. Languages: English. You can get in touch with Billie by emailing b.schwabdunn@newsweek.com, and on X at @billie_sd.


Billie is a Newsweek Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London who has appeared online, in print and on ... Read more