Travis Kelce’s apparent rageful moment with coach Andy Reid at the 2024 Super Bowl stirred up controversy among sports fans. Now, Tom Brady is providing his take on the viral exchange. During his Monday, February 12, appearance on the “Let’s Go! with Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray” podcast, the former quarterback, 46, commended Andy’s composure.
“Coach Reid handled it just awesome, like he always does, ’cause he just said, ‘I was a little off balance, and Travis is such a competitor,'” Tom explained. “I love that because it just speaks to his leadership ability. It speaks to the self-confidence that coach Reid has in himself, too, ’cause he doesn’t take that personally at all. He doesn’t look at that and feel like someone offended him. He takes it for what it is and doesn’t make it more than it is and doesn’t see someone’s trying to belittle him.”
The former Buccaneers player also defended Travis, 34, despite showing what appeared to be sheer anger on the field.
Tom Brady defends Travis Kelce bumping Andy Reid: “There’s always little family issues and of course, I don’t mind seeing it because I was a part of a lot of those things,”
“It speaks to the self-confidence that Coach Reid has in himself, too, because he doesn’t take that… https://t.co/5r87yFZzWp pic.twitter.com/PaC0zIyReY
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) February 13, 2024
“There’s always little family issues, and of course, I don’t mind seeing it ’cause I was a part of a lot of those things,” Tom pointed out. “Emotions are so high. You are definitely not centered and balanced. You’re not in a meditative state at that point. You are fully determined to go out there and to win. So, I think a lot of the things that are said during the games, people should just let them fly off their back.”
Tom also insisted, “Travis is not trying to do any of those things [belittle the coach]. He’s just trying to be fired up and stay in the moment.”
During the Sunday, February 11 game between the Chiefs and the 49ers, Travis was seen yelling at his coach on the sideline while the Chiefs initially struggled to gain the upper hand in the game. While his words were inaudible in the broadcast, viewers and even sports commentators all saw Travis’ anger and called him out for it online.
Travis Kelce should be ASHAMED of himself for assaulting Andy Reid like this on NATIONAL TV.
He is a grown man. SHOW SOME RESPECT…
— Graham Allen (@GrahamAllen_1) February 12, 2024
Shortly after the game ended, Andy explained what went down between him and the football tight end.
“He keeps me young. He was emotional today,” the coach said about Travis. “I have five kids, so I get how that goes. The part I love is he loves to play the game and he wants to help his team win. And it’s not a selfish thing, that’s not what it is. So, as much as he bumps into me, I get after him and we understand that. He just caught me off-balance.”
As for Travis, the athlete was shocked that the NFL caught that moment on camera. During another press conference following Super Bowl LVIII, Travis responded to reporters by saying, “Oh, you guys saw that? I’m gonna keep it between us unless my mic-up tells the world, but I was just telling him how much I love him.”