Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce got caught up in a heated on-field moment with Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle Teair Tart during the NFL season opener in Brazil.
The clash happened in the third quarter on September 5 at São Paulo’s Arena Corinthians, just after Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt picked up two yards. Kelce shoved Tart after the play, and Tart responded by slapping Kelce’s helmet with an open hand.
Kelce threw his arms up in disbelief as referees flagged Tart for unnecessary roughness. The penalty cost the Chargers 15 yards, but Tart avoided ejection.
Rules analyst Terry McAulay broke it down on the broadcast, citing comments from NFL officiating head Walt Anderson. “Because it was open-hand contact to the head, not a closed fist, they didn’t see it as disqualifying,” McAulay explained.
Tart later seemed to poke fun at the altercation online. He posted a clip from Chappelle’s Show referencing the line, “What did the five fingers say to the face?”
Kelce’s fiancée, pop superstar Taylor Swift, wasn’t in attendance. But Swift’s fan base quickly came to his defense on social media, flooding Tart’s Instagram with comments like, “You mess with Taylor’s fiancé, you mess with us.”
The incident comes less than two weeks after Kelce and Swift announced their engagement in a joint post that read, “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”
