Chargers DT Who Slapped Travis Kelce Trolls Him & Taylor Swift on Instagram

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Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was slapped by Chargers defensive tackle Teair Tart in Friday’s game.

A day after slapping Travis Kelce, Chargers defensive tackle Teair Tart continues to take swipes at the Chiefs tight end.

On Saturday, Tart delivered a verbal jab at Kelce on Instagram.

“I’m too swift with it even in Brazil…” Tart wrote in his post, which featured a series of photos from the Chargers’ 27-21 win over the Chiefs in Sao Paulo. Tart also included a clip from the movie “How High,” in which a character is slapped in the face.

Sure enough, the post drew plenty of reactions, a few of which suggested that Tart’s caption was a subtle reference to Kelce’s fiancée, pop superstar Taylor Swift.

“taylor swift has more super bowls than your team btw,” one user wrote.

Another commented: “the biggest highlight in your career is name dropping your colleague’s fiancée and slapping him.”

Kelce and Swift announced their engagement on Aug. 26 via social media.

Did Teair Tart Really Slap Travis Kelce?

The incident between Kelce and Tart occurred following a 2-yard run by Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt with a little over eight minutes remaining in the third quarter of Friday’s game. The players were tangled at the line of scrimmage when Kelce shoved Tart, who then responded by slapping Kelce across his facemask.

Referees quickly threw a flag on the play, penalizing the Chargers 15 yards for unnecessary roughness, but Tart was not ejected.

The next play, quarterback Patrick Mahomes scored on an 11-yard touchdown run to cut Los Angeles’ lead to 13-12.

Kelce had a touchdown of his own later in the half, scoring on a 37-yard pass from Mahomes, and finished with two catches for 47 yards. However, the Chargers held on for their first win over the Chiefs since Sept. 26, 2021, ending a seven-game skid against the perennial Super Bowl contenders.

What are the Chiefs Saying About the Kelce Slap?

Chiefs head coach Andy Reid is confused as to why Tart was not ejected for slapping Kelce.

“I don’t understand that rule,” Reid said in his Monday press conference, via NFL.com. “I guess it’s open-hand, fist, whatever, I don’t know. I don’t know what their decision was on that. But he definitely got hit in the head pretty hard whether it was an open fist or a closed fist.”

Reid declined to say whether he planned to get clarification from the league about the play.

Rules analyst Terry McAulay said during the game’s broadcast on YouTube that because Tart did not strike Kelce with a closed fist, it was not deemed a disqualifying action. However, NBC Sports’ Mike Florio disagreed with that assertion.

Florio cited Rule 12, Article 3, Section 1, which states: “There shall be no unsportsmanlike conduct. This applies to any act which is contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship. Such acts specifically include, among others: (a) Throwing a punch, or a forearm, or kicking at an opponent, even though no contact is made.”

Douglas Bonjour is a breaking news contributor covering the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and WNBA for Heavy. He is also a contributing writer for The Associated Press and has worked for Point Spreads, the Connecticut Post and Hearst Connecticut Media as a reporter and editor. More about Douglas Bonjour