Travis Kelce shows up official, pays the price
Life’s tough if you’re a tight end not named Rob Gronkowski. No matter how well you play, or how outrageous you are, there’s always The Shadow of Gronk looming over you. And as Travis Kelce learned on Sunday, refs don’t take kindly to Gronk-esque theatrics … particularly if you’re showing up the zebras.
Midway through the fourth quarter of Sunday’s Chiefs-Jaguars game at Arrowhead, Kelce was running a crossing route through the end zone when he was yanked to the ground. Enraged, he began berating the nearest official, who threw an unsportsmanlike conduct flag at Kelce.
Ah, but who penalizes the penalizers? Kelce decided he’d give the officials a taste of their own medicine and threw his towel at them. Unfortunately, the NFL does not recognize a player’s towel as a valid indicator of punishment, and so Kelce got a second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and an automatic ejection. The resulting 30 yards’ worth of penalties pushed the Chiefs out of field goal range, but didn’t end up hurting the team overall in its 19-14 victory over Jacksonville.
“As soon as the ref took off his hat, I knew I was out. Felt like an idiot,” said Kelce, who got a lecture from head coach Andy Reid as he left the field. “It was a terrible decision, but just have to learn from it and keep going.”
Hey, at least he gets to call the shots on “Catching Kelce,” his new, uh, “dating” show.
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Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
