Jason Kelce has issued a public apology for 'greeting hate with hate' during a heated bust-up with a fan at the weekend - an encounter which was caught on camera.
The American football star made his statement during a live appearance on ESPN's Monday Night Countdown yesterday (5 November), admitting that he had broken his 'golden rule' for life.
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The clip in question was filmed by onlookers attending a college football game at Penn State on Saturday (2 November).
It began with Jason - who shares three daughters with wife Kylie - walking away from the stadium following the game, where he was followed by a pack of people.
One member of the crowd was seen holding his phone up to the NFL star, before a voice could be heard saying: "Hey, Kelce! How does it feel your brother is a f****t for dating Taylor Swift?"
Jason is the older brother of 35-year-old Travis Kelce, who went public with his relationship with 'Anti-Hero' singer Swift in September last year.
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In the controversial clip, Jason could be seen responding to the hateful comment by grabbing the phone, slamming it to the ground and demanding: "Who's the f****t now?"
It's not clear if the person whose phone was smashed was the same person who shouted the slur.
Addressing the altercation - which has since gone viral online, with many fans criticising the sportsman's repetition of the phrase - the 37-year-old shared an apology while on live television on Monday.
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"I think everybody’s seen on social media everything that took place this week," Jason began. "I’m not happy with anything that took place.
"I’m not proud of it. In a heated moment, I chose to greet hate with hate, and I just don’t think that’s a productive thing."
He went on: "That leads to discourse and it's - the right way to go about things. I fell down to a level that I shouldn't have.
"So, the bottom line is, I want to live my life by the golden rule - what I've always been taught: treat people with common decency, respect, and I'm going to keep doing that moving forward.
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"Even though this has passed - I'm going to do that moving forward and continue to do so."
Despite Jason repeating the remark, fans have since praised the star for jumping to his brother's defence.
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"Good for Jason, even though 99.9% of people are on his side lol," one penned on social media in response to his apology.
Another wrote: "Jason Kelce having to apologize for what he did is insane".
Someone else added: "He was the bigger man in the moment and he's the bigger man now."
Topics: Celebrity, Sport, Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, US News
Rhianna Benson