Former Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce issued a public apology Monday night during ESPN’s pregame show for an altercation with a fan at the Ohio State-Penn State game last weekend, The Associated Press reports.
Kelce admitted to grabbing and throwing the fan’s phone to the ground after being heckled, expressing regret for his actions.
The incident, which occurred near Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania, was captured on social media. Video shows Kelce walking through a crowd, engaging with fans, and then becoming visibly agitated by the fan’s taunts. He then grabbed the fan’s phone and threw it to the ground, turning to confront the man dressed in Penn State gear. Another fan intervened before the situation escalated further.
“In a heated moment, I decided to greet hate with hate,” Kelce said on ESPN. “I fell short this week. I’m not happy with anything that took place. I’m not proud of it. In that moment I chose to greet hate with hate, and I just don’t think that’s a productive thing.”
He went on to express remorse.
“The bottom line is, I try to live my life by the golden rule. That’s what I’ve always been taught. I try to treat people with common decency and respect, and I’m going to keep doing that moving forward.”
