Should ESPN do anything? Jason Kelce smashes student's phone (2 Viewers)

[IvanKaramazov]

I hate Tyreek Hill, and I would be 100% on his side if he were in Kelce's place here. I think folks are overthinking this.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

Like, I would simply not walk up to Tyreek Hill and insult him to his face for internet clout.

 

[ghostguy123]

Sadly he'll probably have to buy the kid a new phone though. Well worth it imo.

I think he should wait for the kid outside the phone store and smash that one too.

I like this

 

[Da Guru]

Does it matter that Kelce used the same slur at the end of the video?

Did not know Kelce slurred him back. All was good until that part. Been best to smash phone and keep walking.

 

[ghostguy123]

I wonder how the response to this would be if it were Tyreek Hill or Aaron Rodgers who smashed the phone?

If the situation was exactly the same, same reaction from me.

 

[ghostguy123]

I think Kelce should beat the kid to the punch and file a harassment lawsuit.

 

[Da Guru]

I think Kelce should beat the kid to the punch and file a harassment lawsuit.

After Kelce slurred the kid back now he is going to have to come out with an apology. Things change fast in those situations.

 

[ghostguy123]

I think Kelce should beat the kid to the punch and file a harassment lawsuit.

After Kelce slurred the kid back now he is going to have to come out with an apology. Things change fast in those situations.

Nah.
Doesn't change the kid was following and harassing him.

 

[Da Guru]

I think Kelce should beat the kid to the punch and file a harassment lawsuit.

After Kelce slurred the kid back now he is going to have to come out with an apology. Things change fast in those situations.

Nah.
Doesn't change the kid was following and harassing him.

Maybe.

Headline From The Athletic:

Jason Kelce slams fan’s phone on ground, exchanges homophobic slurs after insult about Travis dating Taylor Swift.​

My bet is Kelce will apologize for something. Just the way is works today.

 

[massraider]

ESPN is Disney as well. That might affect the response from them.

But I doubt anyone at ESPN/Disney is willing to toss away a promising media commodity like Kelce. One could easily see Jason and eventually Travis hosting podcasts and shows etc. Adding Jason to Monday Night Countdown (This is still a thing??) is just a tryout for bigger and better.

 

[massraider]

Maybe.

Headline From The Athletic:

Jason Kelce slams fan’s phone on ground, exchanges homophobic slurs after insult about Travis dating Taylor Swift.​

My bet is Kelce will apologize for something. Just the way is works today.

The article was much more honest, but that is some terrible headline writing there.

 

[Da Guru]

Maybe.

Headline From The Athletic:

Jason Kelce slams fan’s phone on ground, exchanges homophobic slurs after insult about Travis dating Taylor Swift.​

My bet is Kelce will apologize for something. Just the way is works today.

The article was much more honest, but that is some terrible headline writing there.

Yep, clickbait. Like I stated. We may not agree with it, but I would bet Kelce will apologize for something. Kelce is on ESPN, and getting a lot of endorsements, Chunky Soup and others. His agent will say "Apologize and move on be it right or wrong."

 

[Andy Dufresne]

"Kelce how does it feel that your brother is a f****t for dating Taylor Swift?”

How does that even make any sense?

I would have adapted Steve Martin's response to hecklers by saying, "How does that buzz feel from having your first beer?"

 

[3C's]

"Kelce how does it feel that your brother is a f****t for dating Taylor Swift?”

How does that even make any sense?

I would have adapted Steve Martin's response to hecklers by saying, "How does that buzz feel from having your first beer?"

"Boy, you should lay off the white claws cuz you're drunk."

 

[Ghost Rider]

That's not realistic. Who a person is and what their history is matters. And it should

Great! So Lamar Jackson would get the same attaboys we are seeing for Kelce?

Nope

If someone had yelled a slur at Jackson about him or his family, absolutely.

 

[belljr]

ESPN is Disney as well. That might affect the response from them.

But I doubt anyone at ESPN/Disney is willing to toss away a promising media commodity like Kelce. One could easily see Jason and eventually Travis hosting podcasts and shows etc. Adding Jason to Monday Night Countdown (This is still a thing??) is just a tryout for bigger and better.

Um they already have a podcast with 2.5; million subscribers lol

 

[belljr]

I don't even care what was actually said. It was the "harassing act" just to get a video as guy is just walking along

 

[ghostguy123]

I'd be ok with any human reacting how Kelce did.
The fact that it was Kelce while holding a 12 pack makes it funny.
Brightened my day.

 

[massraider]

ESPN is Disney as well. That might affect the response from them.

But I doubt anyone at ESPN/Disney is willing to toss away a promising media commodity like Kelce. One could easily see Jason and eventually Travis hosting podcasts and shows etc. Adding Jason to Monday Night Countdown (This is still a thing??) is just a tryout for bigger and better.

Um they already have a podcast with 2.5; million subscribers lol

Ha, of course they do, what the heck was I thinking.

They should give them an alternate Sunday night broadcast, and i would never have to hear Al Michaels again

 

[Terminalxylem]

You left "fire him" off the options

Seriously though, I assume ESPN will do something, although the financial penalty from a suspension will be immaterial compared to the financial windfall he's seeing from overexposure; any loss there will be nothing compared to the civil suit he's likely to see.

I suspect Kelce will make a token public apology, replace the phone, and nothing else will become of this “incident”, other than comedic reference.

No way the kid pursues or gets a substantial payout from this.

 

[Capella]

I suspect Kelce will make a token public apology, replace the , and nothing else will become of this “incident”, other than comedic reference.

I would be shocked if he apologizes.

 

[massraider]

If there is an apology, it'll be something along the lines of, I lost my cool, I need to be more disciplined when confronted by donkeys.

 

[Willie Neslon]

I didn't see the follow up video where Kelce says the Fa word three times. He's one of the most visible athletes right now in terms of endorsements. The companies he's involved with likely pull his ads for a short time and wait to see what the public reaction is, if any. If there is any blow-back he'll probably have to post something on instagram written by his publicist.

Was the kid who harassed him a student? If so, will he be expelled?

 

[Terminalxylem]

I suspect Kelce will make a token public apology, replace the , and nothing else will become of this “incident”, other than comedic reference.

I would be shocked if he apologizes.

“I shouldn’t have lost my temper, damaged someone else’s property, and repeated those hateful words. But people need to be respectful of an athlete’s privacy, and understand repercussions are possible in the heat of the moment, when conflict is invited.”

 

[cheese]

He definitely doesn’t owe an apology for the phone. He might for saying a certain word.

 

[massraider]

JMO, but using that word as a reply after someone uses it against you isn't NEARLY as bad as if he had said it first.

I doubt we will see some major outrage from the LGBTQ community.

 

[TennesseeJed]

any loss there will be nothing compared to the civil suit he's likely to see

As a lawyer - he is not going to lose a lot of money on a civil case here.

Worst case scenario - a jury would award nominal damages of $1.

Really, the gentleman who lost his phone will have a tough time finding a lawyer who wants to take on this case on a contingency fee.

 

[bonsai]

I'm interested in what the public thinks ESPN should do.

ESPN should put out a statement that says they gave Jason a "stern talking to" about interacting with hecklers. In reality, executives will hold a five-minute video call with Jason and tel him to keep a cooler head because, given his profile, everything he does is a reflection of ESPN.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Maybe.

Headline From The Athletic:

Jason Kelce slams fan’s phone on ground, exchanges homophobic slurs after insult about Travis dating Taylor Swift.​

My bet is Kelce will apologize for something. Just the way is works today.

The article was much more honest, but that is some terrible headline writing there.

This is what happens when search engine optimization rules the world.

 

[Dr_Zaius]

I voted no suspension. I don't have a super high opinion of either of the Kelce brothers, but I think professional repercussions should be reserved for much more serious offenses than this. Also, I think it's a bunch of baloney that people think they can with no consequences just harass guys who could obviously beat the crap out of them. Still, grabbing and smashing the dude's phone makes him look like a tool. If he feels he can't just ignore it, he can easily stop and confront him and the guy would probably be pissing in his pants scared. There's just no need for him to damage property or anything of the sort to put a stop to it and get his point across.

 

[Cowboysfan8]

I find it interesting how many posters are saying the person should have been punched in the face over a silly word

silly word? maybe to you, but to some of us it’s more than just a silly word.

Not worth getting arrested for. Cuz that’s what would’ve happened if he taught the lil moron a lesson

 

[massraider]

Still, grabbing and smashing the dude's phone makes him look like a tool. If he feels he can't just ignore it, he can easily stop and confront him and the guy would probably be pissing in his pants scared. There's just no need for him to damage property or anything of the sort to put a stop to it and get his point across.

I wonder how many times he has done just that.

Condoning actions is one thing. Understanding that people are human, and get tired of turning the other cheek is another.

 

[northern exposure]

I voted no suspension. I don't have a super high opinion of either of the Kelce brothers, but I think professional repercussions should be reserved for much more serious offenses than this. Also, I think it's a bunch of baloney that people think they can with no consequences just harass guys who could obviously beat the crap out of them. Still, grabbing and smashing the dude's phone makes him look like a tool. If he feels he can't just ignore it, he can easily stop and confront him and the guy would probably be pissing in his pants scared. There's just no need for him to damage property or anything of the sort to put a stop to it and get his point across.

I agree. Kelce could have stopped and glared at the guy. That would have been intimidating enough to shut him up. Kelce is a big guy. Given how much phones cost these days, I don't think Kelce's actions were warranted.

Since Joe wants to throw out hypotheticals in here, what if the celebrity/athlete that smashed the phone was a much smaller guy than the owner of the phone?

 

[3C's]

what if the celebrity/athlete that smashed the phone was a much smaller guy than the owner of the phone?

what if tswift smashed the phone?!

 

[Dr_Zaius]

Still, grabbing and smashing the dude's phone makes him look like a tool. If he feels he can't just ignore it, he can easily stop and confront him and the guy would probably be pissing in his pants scared. There's just no need for him to damage property or anything of the sort to put a stop to it and get his point across.

I wonder how many times he has done just that.

Condoning actions is one thing. Understanding that people are human, and get tired of turning the other cheek is another.

Sure, we don’t know. Maybe he’s been dealing with similar crap for a long time and just snapped. Maybe there was something unrelated really bothering him so he was just in a much more volatile state. Or maybe he flies off the handle often, just usually not this spectacularly. It’s a snippet bereft of context so we’ll always be a bit in the dark.

I never had a desire before, but in these days where social media rules all and everyone’s cell phones are rolling constantly, being a celebrity sounds downright awful. No thanks.

 

[northern exposure]

what if the celebrity/athlete that smashed the phone was a much smaller guy than the owner of the phone?

what if tswift smashed the phone?!

She could just say "Look What You Made Me Do" and "Shake It Off".

 

[northern exposure]

Maybe.

Headline From The Athletic:

Jason Kelce slams fan’s phone on ground, exchanges homophobic slurs after insult about Travis dating Taylor Swift.​

My bet is Kelce will apologize for something. Just the way is works today.

The article was much more honest, but that is some terrible headline writing there.

This is what happens when SEO optimization rules the world.

The O in SEO stands for optimization. The acronym is Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

 

[Joe Bryant]

Since Joe wants to throw out hypotheticals in here, what if the celebrity/athlete that smashed the phone was a much smaller guy than the owner of the phone?

A poster said, "I'm a big proponent in we need to institute more punches to the mouth." so I asked what he thought ESPN should do if that had been the situation. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

 

[ghostguy123]

Since Joe wants to throw out hypotheticals in here, what if the celebrity/athlete that smashed the phone was a much smaller guy than the owner of the phone?

A poster said, "I'm a big proponent in we need to institute more punches to the mouth." so I asked what he thought ESPN should do if that had been the situation. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

If Kelce laid him out, he'd be in trouble with ESPN and the law, and a civil lawsuit.

However had he done that, I would not think less of him. But yeah, obvious ramifications for that.

 

[Joe Bryant]

Since Joe wants to throw out hypotheticals in here, what if the celebrity/athlete that smashed the phone was a much smaller guy than the owner of the phone?

A poster said, "I'm a big proponent in we need to institute more punches to the mouth." so I asked what he thought ESPN should do if that had been the situation. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

If Kelce laid him out, he'd be in trouble with ESPN and the law, and a civil lawsuit.

However had he done that, I would not think less of him. But yeah, obvious ramifications for that.

Thanks. I agree with you. My was for the "Since Joe wants to throw out hypotheticals in here,". I was replying to a post.

 

[bigbottom]

I wonder how the response to this would be if it were Tyreek Hill or Aaron Rodgers who smashed the phone?

What do you think ESPN should do? Am I correct that whatever your answer is, it would be the same if it was Tyreek Hill or Aaron Rodgers instead of Kelce?

 

[Da Guru]

I voted no suspension. I don't have a super high opinion of either of the Kelce brothers, but I think professional repercussions should be reserved for much more serious offenses than this. Also, I think it's a bunch of baloney that people think they can with no consequences just harass guys who could obviously beat the crap out of them. Still, grabbing and smashing the dude's phone makes him look like a tool. If he feels he can't just ignore it, he can easily stop and confront him and the guy would probably be pissing in his pants scared. There's just no need for him to damage property or anything of the sort to put a stop to it and get his point across.

I agree. Kelce could have stopped and glared at the guy. That would have been intimidating enough to shut him up. Kelce is a big guy. Given how much phones cost these days, I don't think Kelce's actions were warranted.

Since Joe wants to throw out hypotheticals in here, what if the celebrity/athlete that smashed the phone was a much smaller guy than the owner of the phone?

Kelce is an NFL center. Used to taking punishment and giving it. So I think he would do that to anyone.

I highly doubt 5-8 160lb Ricky Fowler would turn to a 6-4 250lb man and try to smash his phone no matter what he said

 

[BLOCKED_PUNT]

I wouldn't be surprised if there were no suspension. While what the student did wasn't right it doesn't give Kelece the right to destroy someone's property. I voted for one week since I think ESPN should slap him on the wrist and say that this kind of behavior isn't acceptable. I also think that Kelece should reach out and offer to replace the cell phone.

 

[culdeus]

I realize everyone may not see this distinction or perhaps haven't actually watched the video but there is nuance here in how to Kelce using the slur in that he turned it back on him by using the original slur saying "who's the f__ now" vs. calling a person that slur. Context here matters imo.

Feels like this is getting swept away in the news cycle. It's also subtle when putting a slur back on someone, it can be read several different ways.

 

[northern exposure]

Since Joe wants to throw out hypotheticals in here, what if the celebrity/athlete that smashed the phone was a much smaller guy than the owner of the phone?

A poster said, "I'm a big proponent in we need to institute more punches to the mouth." so I asked what he thought ESPN should do if that had been the situation. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

It was clear. Didn't you also ask what if it had been Aaron Rodgers or Tyreek Hill that smashed the phone?

 

[fruity pebbles]

They’re not going to suspend him. Through him, they get access to Travis and ultimately Taylor.

 

[Terminalxylem]

I realize everyone may not see this distinction or perhaps haven't actually watched the video but there is nuance here in how to Kelce using the slur in that he turned it back on him by using the original slur saying "who's the f__ now" vs. calling a person that slur. Context here matters imo.

Feels like this is getting swept away in the news cycle. It's also subtle when putting a slur back on someone, it can be read several different ways.

Really?

I don’t think it’s more nuanced than someone saying “you’re a jerk”, followed by the response “no, YOU’RE THE jerk”.

What else are you reading into the exchange?

 

[massraider]

I also think that Kelece should reach out and offer to replace the cell phone

I heard he called, but the kid didn't answer his phone.

 

[BLOCKED_PUNT]

any loss there will be nothing compared to the civil suit he's likely to see

As a lawyer - he is not going to lose a lot of money on a civil case here.

Worst case scenario - a jury would award nominal damages of $1.

Really, the gentleman who lost his phone will have a tough time finding a lawyer who wants to take on this case on a contingency fee.

You're the lawyer and I'm not so I trust what you say but it seems to me like it would be considered a crime to destroy someones property. I agree with you that if he got a sympathetic jury that not alot would happen and I also agree that there are likely alot of lawyers that wouldn't want to touch this case but am I wrong to assume that Kelce could be held criminally and civilly liable for this?

 

[Mitchie]

I realize everyone may not see this distinction or perhaps haven't actually watched the video but there is nuance here in how to Kelce using the slur in that he turned it back on him by using the original slur saying "who's the f__ now" vs. calling a person that slur. Context here matters imo.

Feels like this is getting swept away in the news cycle. It's also subtle when putting a slur back on someone, it can be read several different ways.

Really?

I don’t think it’s more nuanced than someone saying “you’re a jerk”, followed by the response “no, YOU’RE THE jerk”.

What else are you reading into the exchange?

He didn't call him a f__, he asked the question who's the f___ now, after the kid used the slur. Again, it's nuanced but important imo, and if you don't see the difference you may not and I understand. Ideally he wouldn't have used the word at all, but it's different than just screaming the slur back at him.