ESPN's Chris Russo Critiques Travis Kelce for Media Silence After Playoff Elimination
Chris Russo, a prominent figure at ESPN, voiced his discontent with Travis Kelce after the Kansas City Chiefs' playoff hopes were dashed. Following the team's loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, which sealed their fate, Kelce opted not to engage with reporters.
“How about Kelce on Sunday afternoon?” Russo remarked during a segment on ESPN’s First Take. “They just lose a game. [Patrick] Mahomes tears his ACL. The last play of the game [backup quarterback Gardner] Minshew goes to Kelce to try and kick a field goal. Intercepted. And Kelce, after he settles down in the locker room, he says, ‘Not today, fellas. I’m not going to talk to you.’”
After the Chiefs' defeat on December 14, Kelce, 36, told the media, “Sorry guys, it’s not the time. I’ll catch you guys during the week.” This decision did not sit well with Russo, who emphasized the dedication of the reporters covering the team.
“Hold on now. Timeout,” Russo continued. “We got these poor guys who have been covering the Chiefs for years, who go to every training camp, practice, every preseason game. Every day for seven months they cover the football team and you blow them off at the end of this game when they got Mahomes out? Maybe the last game you’re ever gonna play [with him]? You can’t give them three words?”
Mahomes, 30, suffered a torn ACL during the game, raising concerns about his future and Kelce's potential retirement decision looms large. Russo criticized Kelce for missing an opportunity to connect with fans and media during such a pivotal moment.
“You blow everybody off walking off the field and you don’t talk to the press and you get in the car? That is wrong,” Russo stated. “That is not the way to do things. You give them five minutes. Give them a couple of sentences for the Chiefs fans. Really down on him.”
This incident marked the third occasion this season where Kelce declined to speak with reporters after a loss, opting instead to use his “New Heights” podcast—co-hosted with his brother Jason—as a platform for commentary.
“Listen, I understand you got your brother and you do the podcast. I get that,” Russo added. “Maybe you want to save the exclusive news. But no serious sports fan listens to that nonsense anyway.”
In this week’s episode of “New Heights,” Travis reflected on the Chiefs’ dwindling playoff chances and what lies ahead in the remaining weeks of the season. “We got three games left… the integrity of who you are as a professional, as a player, you gotta love this s***, man,” he said. “And Chiefs Kingdom, we’re gonna give you everything we got.”
He concluded with a commitment to maintaining high standards: “There’s only one way I do things, there’s only one way Coach Reid does things, and if we’re gonna go out there and play some football, we’re gonna do it the right way and keep trying to get these things fixed and end on the highest note we can.”
