Jason Kelce represented the Philadelphia Eagles at the recently held NFL owners’ meeting, where he made a strong case for why the tush push shouldn’t be banned. And his efforts seemed to pay off, as just enough teams voted to keep the play. It was especially surprising since reports leading up to the meeting suggested the infamous play was expected to be banned.
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However, while Kelce’s efforts succeeded, his statements and media interaction rubbed Mike Florio the wrong way. And he wasn’t afraid to call the former offensive lineman out.
Before attending the owners’ meeting, Kelce apparently snubbed media requests, saying he was there to speak only to the owners. Florio had an issue with this, so much so that he compared it to the viral phone-smashing incident Kelce was caught up in this past year.
“Don’t stiff-arm the media. I know he has no obligation to do it. I just think that’s kind of a bad look,” Florio argued on his show, ProFootballTalk. “Not as bad of a look as grabbing somebody’s cell phone and smashing it because you didn’t like what they were saying to you at Penn State.”
The incident in question happened back in November of 2024. Jason was walking outside of Penn State stadium when a heckler called his brother, Travis, a homophobic slur. In response, the elder Kelce snatched the heckler’s phone and smashed it on the ground, shattering it to pieces.
Jason wasn’t fined or anything, but he later apologized on ESPN’s Monday Night Football. It clearly left a bad taste in some folks’ mouths, like Florio.
“I like Travis Kelce, I don’t really know how I feel about Jason. The jury’s out for me on Jason,” Florio later stated on the show.
“And I say that because he was at this meeting yesterday… He refused to talk to the media. He said, ‘I didn’t come here to talk to the media. I came here to talk to the owners,’ It’s like, come on, man. Come on, you’ve got a $100 million podcast contract, a late-night show on ESPN, and prominent placement on ESPN. You’re there to talk about the issue of the moment. You talk extemporaneously into a microphone all of the time. Give them 5 minutes!” he added.
At the start of the video, Florio called out Kelce’s apparent hypocrisy for saying he’d still be playing if he could do 80 tush pushes per game. It was a line that seemingly earned him a lot of favor with NFL owners. But to Florio, the statement felt confusing.
“He’s also the guy that reportedly used to yell, ‘F–k my life,’ every time they ran the play. So, I’m having a hard time spinning those two plates, Chris,” Florio told his co-host.
His co-host, Chris Simms, would go on to argue that Jason was probably joking when he used to say the “f-k my life” line. Simms was a former NFL player as well, and he recalled that he used to utter the same phrase when he had big, burly defensive players about to sack him. But that didn’t mean he hated what he was doing.
Regardless, by the end of the scalding criticisms of the Kelce brother, Florio said that he bears Jason because he likes Travis.
“I love Travis, and Jason gets some benefit of the doubt by proximity to Travis. But there are flashes at times where I’m like, I’m not really sure about this guy.”
In conclusion, Florio has clearly held ill will towards Jason over the years and believes that he wouldn’t be so popular if it weren’t for Travis. That is his opinion, but he might be the only person in the world who despises Jason so much.
Any football fan you talk to would say that both Kelce brothers are great personalities to have around the game. Jason hasn’t just done a ton on the field, but off the field, he’s been a pillar for the Philadelphia community.
Aside from the Penn State incident, he has numerous good interactions with fans. And other fans have outwardly appreciated his approachable and relatable attitude.
Getting upset at Jason is like getting upset at a good night’s sleep – no one actually wants that. Florio usually has good takes, but this one felt a bit off-base and like personal prejudice.
