In 3 Words Kansas City Chiefs Tight End-and Taylor Swift Boyfriend-Travis Kelce Taught a Huge Lesson in Self-Acceptance

In 3 Words Kansas City Chiefs Tight End–and Taylor Swift Boyfriend–Travis Kelce Taught a Huge Lesson in Self-Acceptance

When former teammates of Jason and Travis Kelce told a major sports publication that they were “absolute pigs” in college, the Kelces could have taken offense. They could have denied what was said, or even complained of defamation. Instead, they cheerfully acknowledged that everything in the article was true. It was an impressive act of self-acceptance, transparency, and emotional intelligence–one every high-profile leader can learn from.

The Kelce family is considered football royalty these days. Jason plays center for the Philadelphia Eagles, and Travis plays tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. The brothers faced each other at the 2023 Super Bowl, which the Chiefs won, and Travis and his team returned to win it a second time in a row this year.

Public interest in both Kelces is intense, especially since Travis started dating Taylor Swift. So it’s no surprise that the New York Times sports news site The Athletic published an account of Jason and Travis Kelce’s time at the University of Cincinnati. In the piece, former teammates and coaches described the pair back then and most especially the disgustingly foul house they shared with some other players. One remembered it as a “real life Animal House.” They talked about how bad the place smelled. They recounted how Travis was kicked off the team for a season because he failed a drug test for marijuana–and went right on smoking throughout his suspension.

In short, The Athletic told the kind of raunchy college stories most of us don’t want to remember–let alone read on a popular news site. But this is where the Kelce brothers are different from most of us. Instead of trying to minimize how badly they behaved back then, or give excuses, or try to avoid the subject, they cheerfully admitted just how awful they’d once been. And they did it without apology.

“The Athletic had a great fucking article,” Travis said on the brothers’ New Heights podcast, when a fan wrote in to ask about it.

“It really made us sound like degenerates,” Jason said.

“What college footbal player isn’t?” Travis countered. “If you’re not, you’re doing college wrong.”

The brothers went on to discuss a large garbage can they had in the middle of their living room. The article described it as piled high with empty pizza boxes, but Travis set the record straight. “This was more than pizza boxes. It was everything. You name it–cans, pizza, beer leftovers, and we didn’t have a lid. It just stunk up the entire fucking place. It was actually useful. It was exactly what we needed because we were a bunch of filthy animals and the trash was piling up.”

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At my wedding, my grandfather handed me an old passbook. My father quickly took it and said, “That bank shut down in the ’80s—he’s just confused.”

Part 2 “Mr. Mercer?” he said again, his voice carrying the weight of bad news and good news tangled together so tightly they were impossible to separate. The second executive,…

Part 2 + 3: I kept $20M in my mom’s safe. Next morning she was gone with it—and I laughed because of what was inside

Part 2 Because the black bag they raced out of that house with only had… Twenty million dollars in perfectly printed counterfeit bills. I had swapped the real purchase packet…

Part 2 + 3: My daughter married a Korean man when she was 21. She hasn’t been home for twelve years, but every year, she sends $100,000.

Part 2 And then, someone called out in a voice I would know anywhere. “Mom…?” The single word hit me like a physical blow. My heart slammed against my ribs…

My sister switched my baby powder with flour as a joke during a family visit. Thirty seconds after I used it, my six-month-old baby stopped breathing. I rushed her to the hospital…

Part 2 “It looks like someone deliberately exposed her,” Dr. Morrison finished. The words landed like broken glass in an open wound. I stared at her, the hospital blanket twisting…

Part 2: I am 65 years old. I got divorced 5 years ago. My ex-husband left me a bank card with 3,000 dollars. I never touched it. Five years later, when I went to withdraw that money…

Part 2 The manager’s heels clicked across the polished tile like a countdown. She was in her early sixties, silver hair pulled into a neat bun, navy suit tailored sharp…

Part 2: At my wedding, my grandfather handed me an old passbook. My father quickly took it and said, “That bank shut down in the ’80s—he’s just confused.”

Mr. Mercer?” the second executive repeated, his voice low and measured, like a man delivering news that could tilt the rest of a life. His name tag read Richard Harlan,…

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In 3 Words Kansas City Chiefs Tight End–and ...