Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce manhandles coach Andy Reid in Super Bowl LVIII

Monday, 12 February 2024

The golden rule of not manhandling a coach or official didn’t seem to apply to Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce in Super Bowl LVIII on Monday (NZT).

In an alarming incident early in the second quarter of the big show against the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas, Kelce made his frustrations clear and took it out on his coach Andy Reid.

As the Chiefs made a shaky start and trailed the 49ers, Kelce left the field and advanced on Reid, banging his helmet angrily.

He then grabbed at Reid’s arm and appeared to shove him while bellowing in the coach’s face.

Team-mate Jerick McKinnon stepped in to pull Kelce away and defuse the situation.

The commentator on the live broadcast described it as this: “The pressure to perform at the Super Bowl… you know that everybody wants this in the worst way. For Travis Kelce, upset, banged his helmet, banged into his head coach Andy Reid and (Jerick) McKinnon gets over there just to separate (them).”

The commentary continued, suggesting this wasn’t the first time it had happened:

“You notice how Andy Reid just kinda turned and… this is not unusual for them. Reid handles prodigal sons about as well as anyone. In fact I think he somewhat enjoys it, to harness them.

“He understands the passion and he’s done this with Travis Kelce since his rookie year. This is the game Travis Kelce desperately wants, as much as anyone else, and sometimes the emotion boils over.”

A legendary tight end, Kelce was drafted by the Chiefs in 2013 and already has two Super Bowl titles to his name.

His football ability aside, Kelce attracted plenty of headlines in the leadup due to his relationship with pop icon Taylor Swift, who was in the stands in Las Vegas cheering him on.