Travis Kelce has defended his beer chugging antics at the Cleveland Cavaliers game over the weekend. The NFL star and his fiancée Taylor Swift sat courtside to watch his hometown Cavaliers slump to a Game 3 defeat against the New York Knicks in the NBA Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday night.
The evening took a boisterous turn when the Kansas City Chiefs tight end attempted to give a boost of energy to the home crowd. Kelce was captured chugging a can of Garage Beer - the brand that he and brother Jason Kelce co-own - on the jumbotron as Swift shielded her eyes behind him.
Kelce's brother Jason jokingly branded the antics 'classless' as the pair addressed the chug on their podcast, New Heights. 'You're a role model, Travis. You cannot be out there chugging beers in public,' Jason teased.
However, Travis hit back at the criticism as he insisted he had no qualms with the move. 'It was a classy chug, Jason,' he claimed. 'I didn't spill one drop. Didn't crush the can. I'm on hardwood floor at an NBA game, it could've gotten messy. It was a smooth classy chug to get the people going. We're down by 10 f***ing points, trying to get some sort of energy going in the building.'
Jason eventually conceded that it was an 'elegant chug,' before breaking into a rendition of 'Smooth Operator.' 'It was an elegant chug. It wasn't too much energy,' Jason said, analyzing Travis's delivery. 'It was just the right amount and it was smooth. Just like everything you do. You are a smooth athlete. Not even touching the lips, no form of panic. You didn't even panic when the foam started coming out. You knew there was a chance it was gonna get a little messy. Pinkie was up!'
Kelce's courtside stunt attracted some criticism from fans, who took aim at the Chiefs star on social media. However, San Francisco 49ers star George Kittle - a good friend of Kelce's when they aren't competing against each other during the NFL season - took it upon himself to shoot down a fan who called out Kelce's behavior.
'Travis Kelce looking and acting like a teenager who just discovered alcohol is the farthest thing from a role model I can imagine,' a fan, Tony Farmer, wrote on X, sharing a clip of the moment in question. Kittle saw it and replied by mocking the fan for calling out Kelce for enjoying himself on a Saturday night in the offseason. 'Tony you gotta chill out man. Maybe have fun? I don't know,' Kittle wrote back.
On the night, the Cleveland fans inside Rocket Arena had gone wild for the rowdy antics. However, cameras caught Swift's squirming reaction. The Shake It Off hitmaker was seen shielding her eyes as she could barely watch her NFL fiancé show off for the crowd.
