National outrage over questionable penalties called during the Kansas City Chiefs’ playoff game against the Houston Texans found its way onto Travis Kelce’s podcast Wednesday, but he remained on the sidelines of the debate.
After NFL referees called two harsh passer penalties following hits on Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes during Saturday’s divisional game, Texas players and head coach DeMeco Ryans suggested officials to side with Kansas City. Many fans have voiced their grievances about the questionable punishments on social media.
Kelce and his brother Jason read some of the outraged tweets during Wednesday’s episode of their podcast, “New Heights,” but Travis refused to talk about the issue.
“I would like to plead the Fifth,” the tight end said, jokingly referring to his constitutional right to remain silent.
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Jason Kelce and Travis Kelce (Imagn)
Jason described one of the sanctions as “completely, absolutely ridiculous”.
“He didn’t even get hit,” Jason said. “I understand why they called it. I just think it was a bad call.”
Travis is one of the few people to remain silent on the issue, as sanctions were one of the most debated topics in football last week.
Mahomes has since defended the referees for penalties on several occasions. Reporters asked the quarterback Wednesday if he thought the referees gave him preferential treatment.
“I don’t feel that way,” Mahomes responded. “At the end of the day, the referees do their best to make the game as fair and appropriate as possible. And all you can do is go play the game you love as hard as you can and live with the results …I think that’s what we preach here in Kansas City.
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The homes of Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce were reportedly burglarized last month. (Imagn)
“You have new referees every year, you have new circumstances and you can never really tell because every game is different. And that’s what makes the NFL so special. I feel like I have just kept playing, and I just try to win and whatever happens, happens.
Mahomes defended the referees Tuesday during a radio interview on 96.5 The Fan.
“I kind of learned that no matter what happens in the game, something is going to come out of it if you win and you keep winning. So I don’t really pay attention to it,” Mahomes said.
“I mean, obviously, I’ve been on both sides as far as how I felt about the calls, but, at the end of the day, man, these guys do their best to make the best calls and keep where players play in the game.
“And that’s what decides the outcome. And obviously, there was a call here or there that people didn’t agree with, but, at the same time, I think there was a lot other actions that really decided the outcome of this football match.
Head referee Clay Martin explained these calls to a pool reporter after the game, saying one of the controversial calls was the result of “forced contact with the facemask area”, which warranted a flag. He said there was forced contact with Mahomes’ “hairline” during another unnecessary roughness call.
