Former MLB executive David Samson believes Travis Kelce’s relationship with Taylor Swift helped prevent disciplinary action for verbal abuse against Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.
During the second quarter of the 2024 Super Bowl, Kelce berated Reed on the sideline for taking Reed out of the game on a play that ended up being a fumble by running back Isaiah Pacheco.
Samson, the former president of the Marlins and executive vice president of the Expos, said on “The Dan Le Batard Show with Stagots” that if something like this happened to his team, the players would be punished. He said he would have been killed.
Samson said CBS and the Chiefs had no intention of “ruffling feathers” with Swift, which gave Kelce an “out” for being undisciplined.
“I would have put him on the bench,” Samson said. What’s covered in Awful Annunciation. “It’s a series.”
Le Batard pushed back, saying he didn’t think Samson would remove his star player from the championship game.
“If a baseball player physically attacks a manager during a game, do you think that manager will be ejected from the game?” Samson continued.
“I’m not crazy, because there’s a team of 50-plus players who have looked at what Travis Kelce has done and said, ‘Oh, he can definitely do it.’ The ridiculousness surrounding Taylor Swift doesn’t make Kelsey any less special. ”
He also talked about the Marlins benching star catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez during the 2003 regular season when he was the team’s executive.
“We should have put him on the bench for the game,” Samson added. “No one talks about it because what he did is unforgivable and no one wants to upset Taylor. It’s a joke.”
After beating the Niners in the Super Bowl, Reid dodged questions about Kelce’s rant.
“He caught me when I wasn’t looking,” Reed told ESPN after the game.
“He didn’t know I was going to go that far. Then he came over and hugged me and said, ‘I’m sorry.’ But he just wants to be on the field and play. There is no one I am better than him.
“He’s a competitive kid, he loves to play, he makes me feel young, but my balance is terrible.”
Travis Kelce admitted on the New Heights podcast with his brother and longtime Eagles center Jason Kelce that he crossed a line.
“I can’t get excited enough to bump into the coach and lose my balance,” Travis said. “When he stumbled, I thought in his head, ‘Oh, it’s gone.'”
