Travis Kelce Sparks Controversy with National Anthem Behavior
The moment that set social media ablaze came years after a very different one. Back in 2017, Travis Kelce made headlines when he took a knee during the national anthem in solidarity with the movement Colin Kaepernick began. On October 27, 2025, at Arrowhead Stadium, another flashpoint arrived — not through protest, but through perception.
As the anthem played before the Chiefs–Commanders game, cameras panned from a composed Patrick Mahomes to Kelce, hand on heart but bouncing lightly on his feet, tapping his toes — an energy that looked more like warm-up than reverence. Within minutes, the brief clip went viral. Some called it “disrespectful,” others said it was “overblown,” pointing out he never removed his hand from his chest. The debate reignited familiar divides — over what respect looks like, and how much body language should matter.
Once the whistle blew, however, the conversation shifted to football. With Taylor Swift in the stands for a third straight week, Kelce delivered one of his sharpest performances of the season: six catches, 99 yards, and a third-quarter touchdown that tied him with Priest Holmes for the most total TDs in Chiefs history. Kansas City rolled to a 28–7 win — its third straight after an 0–2 start — while Mahomes threw for nearly 300 yards and three scores.
For longtime fans, though, the anthem moment echoed Kelce’s earlier activism. In 2017, he had been among the few white NFL players to kneel, joining a protest that reshaped the league’s conversation about race, policing, and freedom of expression. Now, eight years later, Kelce once again found himself at the intersection of performance, perception, and principle — a reminder that in the NFL, the spotlight doesn’t dim when the anthem ends.