KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Retired Eagles center Jason Kelce apologized during ESPN's pregame show Monday night after grabbing the phone of an unruly fan and spiking it to the ground before the Ohio State-Penn State game last weekend.
“In a heated moment, I decided to greet hate with hate,” Kelce said before ESPN's broadcast of the Buccaneers-Chiefs game featuring his brother, Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce. “I fell short this week.”
Jason Kelce was attending the Big Ten matchup between the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions in State College, Pennsylvania, on Saturday when the incident occurred. Video on social media showed him walking through a crowd near Beaver Stadium and fans asking for photos and fist bumps when one fan began to heckle him and appeared to shout an anti-gay slur directed toward his brother for dating Taylor Swift.
At that point, Kelce grabbed the fan's phone and threw it to the ground, then turned to confront the man dressed in Penn State attire. Kelce appeared to use the same anti-gay slur during the exchange before another fan stepped between them before the altercation could escalate.
“I think everybody has seen on social media what happened this week,” Kelce said on the ESPN broadcast. "Listen, I’m not happy with anything that took place. 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, I really don’t. I don’t think it leads to discourse and it’s the right way to go about things. In that moment I fell down to a level that I shouldn’t have.
“The bottom line is, I try to live my life by the golden rule, that’s what I’ve always been taught,” he said. “I try to treat people with common decency and respect, and I’m going to keep doing that moving forward.”
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FILE - Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce prepares for his ESPN debut as a Monday Night Football Analyst before an NFL football game between the Buffalo Bill and the New York Jets, Oct. 14, 2024 in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Vera Nieuwenhuis, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — Bobby McMann scored twice, including the tiebreaking goal late in the third period, and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Islanders 2-1 on Thursday night.
Joseph Woll stopped 32 shots as the Maple Leafs topped the Islanders for the second time this week and won for the third time in four games.
Scott Mayfield scored for New York and Ilya Sorokin made 29 saves in the Islanders' third straight loss.
Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech was called for a tripping penalty which set up the power play that McMann and Toronto capitalized on to get the winning goal with 2:59 remaining.
The Islanders poured on the pressure in the final minutes but Woll preserved the Maple Leafs' win.
McMann opened the scoring at 10:43 of the second, and Mayfield tied it with 1:45 remaining in the period.
Islanders: Twenty-year-old Islanders defenseman Isaiah George left the game in the second period when he caught an elbow from Max Domi and did not return.
Maple Leafs: Toronto assistant coach Lane Lambert returned to UBS arena for the first time since being fired by the Islanders on Jan. 20, 2024. Lambert originally came to New York with Barry Trotz in 2018 and then took over behind the bench when Trotz was fired in 2022.
Mitch Marner gave his right-handed stick to left-handed defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson after his stick broke, but the Maple Leafs' defenseman was unable to clear the puck out of the defensive zone on his off hand. That turnover led to the Islanders scoring the tying goal late in the second period.
The Islanders allowed the opening goal for the 12th time in 14 games and are 5-8-1 in that span.
Toronto Maple Leafs' Max Domi (11) fights for control of the puck with New York Islanders' Bo Horvat (14) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Toronto Maple Leafs' Bobby McMann (74) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Toronto Maple Leafs' Bobby McMann (74) fights for control of the puck with New York Islanders' Pierre Engvall (18) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll (60) celebrates with teammates after an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Toronto Maple Leafs' Max Pacioretty (67) and Mitch Marner (16) celebrate with teammates after a goal by Bobby McMann during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll (60) protects the net during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Toronto Maple Leafs' Bobby McMann (74) celebrates after scoring a goal during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, in Elmont, N.Y. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
