Jason Kelce says he’s sorry. Should we forgive him?
The curmudgeonly Kelce brother took a shot at “O Canada” on a recent podcast episode
Professional athlete-turned-professional podcaster Jason Kelce recently shared his thoughts on not only the Blue Jays, but the entire sport of baseball—two things he decidedly does not like.
“You’re telling me I’m supposed to get excited about a Canadian baseball team and a team that just spends more money than anybody else? Who the fuck cares about either?” he said on his New Heights podcast, which he co-hosts with his brother, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. (His latter point was that the LA Dodgers had the highest payroll in the MLB this year. Ugh, don’t make us defend them.)
This was shortly after the World Series, which Travis said he had fun watching. So did millions of people around the world. But not Jason Kelce.
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After he got roasted across social media for being cringe-inducingly obnoxious, especially as a fellow athlete, he took to X to apologize. “Guys, I love Canada,” he posted, blaming the comments on his social media manager, Jake, who he claimed had cut the clip out of context. “I was actually rooting for the Blue Jays in a World Series that I didn’t care about. Seriously, Canada is the best, I was just talking shit about not being personally invested.”
Days later, he decided to half-heartedly make amends by putting his own spin on the Canadian national anthem, changing the lyrics to maple syrup references and such, before giving up and telling his social media manager not to make him look “xenophobic” again. (Prince Harry’s apology was way better.)
The New Heights segment finished with the Kelce brothers saying they want to visit Canada. Travis can come. (He says he loves Toronto, calling it one of his favourite cities.) And his fiancé. Jake was just doing his job, so he is also welcome. Until Jason stops being a hater, he can stay over there.
We wonder what the Jays’ group chat has been saying about this.
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Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
