Although Jason Kelce has recently had to deal with hostile fans, Dave Portnoy, the creator of Barstool Sports, has openly supported the former NFL player’s responses.
The most recent incident happened Thursday night in Los Angeles following Kelce’s performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
One irate fan scaled a fence and threw curses at the former NFL player after Kelce departed the El Capitan Theatre without pausing to sign autographs.
He referred to him as a “pu**y” and a “sh*t bag,” but Kelce got out of his SUV to sign autographs for the irate throng in an effort to defuse the situation.
Portnoy, however, took issue with this choice.
I HATE that Jason Kelce got back out of his car and signed this lunatics autograph. He's getting bullied by assholes. That guy should be in prison not getting an autograph to flip. pic.twitter.com/SRKyyjudXY
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) November 22, 2024
“I HATE that Jason Kelce got back out of his car and signed this lunatic’s autograph. He’s getting bullied by a**holes. That guy should be in prison, not getting an autograph to flip,” Portnoy posted on Twitter.
This wasn’t the first time Kelce had to deal with rowdy fans. The retired athlete got into a fight with a college student during a Pennsylvania State University game earlier in November.
The student threw a phone in Kelce’s face and used a homophobic slur to disparage his brother Travis Kelce, mentioning Travis’s relationship with Taylor Swift.
In response, Jason snatched the student’s phone and slammed it down.
“Who is the fa***t now?”
After the event received a lot of media attention, Kelce apologized in an ESPN interview.
“In a heated moment, I chose to greet hate with hate, and I just don’t think that’s productive,” he said told ESPN.
“I’m not proud of it.”
Despite Kelce’s apology, Portnoy stood by him, asserting that the athlete’s reaction was justified.
“The only thing Kelce should have apologized for is maybe using the F word,” Portnoy tweeted.
He argued that Kelce was simply repeating the insult directed at him.
“Golden rule was applied perfectly. He treated that guy exactly how he deserved to be treated.”
These episodes underscore the challenges that celebrities encounter when interacting with intrusive or hostile fans, as Kelce gets ready to assume a new role as a late-night host.
Although Kelce has apologized for some of his behavior, Portnoy’s endorsement has raised questions about how public people ought to handle stressful, high-pressure situations.
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