In case you missed the news amid surreal events in the political realm, NFL training camps have opened.
That means you should expect another wave of hyped-up stories laser-focused on Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and his girlfriend, pop music megastar Taylor Swift.
The Kelce-Swift circus returned to the headlines on Wednesday, when the three-time Super Bowl Champion tight end responded to a garden-variety, training-camp dustup by going out of his way to escalate tensions.
In a viral video posted to the social media platform X, Kelce reacted to teammate George Karlaftis’ overly aggressive defensive play by running at Karlaftis, getting into his face, and shoving him.
To understand Kelce’s indignation, it is important to keep in mind that the players wore only helmets and shoulder pads. Had they practiced in full pads, then no one could have objected to Karlaftis’ aggression.
At the beginning of the play in question, quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw a short pass to wide receiver Kadarius Toney. After Toney caught the pass, he juked one defender and turned to run up the field.
A second approaching defender practiced his tackling angle but otherwise made only light contact with Toney.
Then, Karlaftis came from the middle of the field with unexpected force and knocked Toney to the ground. The irate wide receiver got up and threw the ball in Karlaftis’ direction.
Nothing in the trajectory of their respective careers would suggest that Karlaftis took out frustration on Toney.
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A third-year linebacker and former first-round draft pick of the Chiefs, Karlaftis has had a productive-if-slightly-underwhelming start to his career. In 2023, he finished tied for 17th in the NFL with 10.5 sacks.
Toney, on the other hand, has been a massive disappointment. The New York Giants drafted the wide receiver with their first-round pick in 2021 but traded him to Kansas City the following year. Since then, he has largely occupied a reserve role at best.
In other words, if either player had cause for career-related frustration, it would be Toney. So Karlaftis’ hit — literally and figuratively — seemed to come out of nowhere.
As spectators audibly reacted to the violent hit, Toney’s offensive teammates began moving in Karlaftis’ direction.
While the linebacker walked back to his defensive huddle, Kelce made a beeline for Karlaftis.
The tight end then got into Karlaftis’ face and appeared to shove him in the head before teammates came between the two. Karlaftis and several other defensive players then jogged off the field.
KC Sports Network posted the 37-second clip to X. As of Thursday morning, the clip had more than 1.3 million views.
Gittin’ CHIPPY 😬
George Karlaftis lays out Kadarius Toney after a play and Travis Kelce has some words for him 👀 pic.twitter.com/CZLk04YSPk
— KC Sports Network (@KCSportsNetwork) July 24, 2024
As training camp scrums go, this one looked like much ado about nothing.
The clip went viral, however, and the incident became a story for one reason.
As the famous beau of an exponentially more famous music diva, Kelce already attracts significant attention. And that attention has sometimes revealed a problem with anger management.
Recall, for instance, the tight end’s disrespectful and physical altercation with his head coach, Andy Reid, during the Chiefs’ 25-22 Super Bowl victory over the San Francisco 49ers in February — an incident for which Kelce later apologized.
In sum, Kelce’s aggression toward Karlaftis, done in defense of Toney, probably means little on its own. As part of an emerging pattern of behavior, however, and in light of his relationship with Swift, it means that the tight end can probably expect more than his fair share of scrutiny.
Meanwhile, NFL fans can expect more stories about Kelce and Swift. Yippee.
