Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has vented his frustrations over the fact a Chargers star avoided punishment despite smacking Travis Kelce in the face on Friday.
Kelce and Teair Tart came to blows in their season-opener, after the Chiefs star was blocking on a drive for his team that would end with a Patrick Mahomes touchdown.
But Tart seemed to take exception with how hard Kelce was pushing him. When he let go, Tart stared at Kelce before slapping him across the helmet with an open palm.
It was that which saved Tart, a 6ft 2inch, 315lbs defensive tackle, from being ejected from the game. Had it been a clenched fist, the rules would have forced the referees to remove him.
Most fans were left confused by the fact Tart was allowed to stay on the field and now the Kansas City head coach has weighed in on the matter.
According to NFL.com, Reid said: ‘I don’t understand that rule. I guess it’s open-hand, fist, whatever, I don’t know. I don’t know what their decision was on that.
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has fumed at the NFL over an incident in their season-opener
Los Angeles Chargers defender Teair Tart was seen slapping Travis Kelce in the game
‘But he definitely got hit in the head pretty hard, whether it was an open fist or a closed fist’.
Reid was then asked if he planned to get clarification from the NFL on the play. ‘I’ll work out that with the league,’ he said. ‘I can’t get into all that.’
Kelce appeared unharmed and didn’t react with any anger to Tart’s hit. Instead, he shrugged and turned to the referees, appealing for them to take action.
After the incident, Chargers defender Tart poked fun at his slap on Kelce after being bombarded with messages from angry Taylor Swift fans.
Tart added fuel to the fire by reposting a famous Dave Chappelle skit depicting American singer and songwriter Rick James slapping comedian Charlie Murphy.
He shared the skit – which sees Chappelle’s fictional James character ask Murphy ‘what did the five fingers say to the face?’ before smacking him – along with two laughing emojis in a clear reference to his altercation with Kelce.
He later shared a series of pictures from the game onto his Instagram account. The caption read: ‘I’m too swift with it even in Brazil…’
Kelce was unhurt but it was a surprise that Tart faced no further punishment
The 6ft 2in, 315-pound Chargers defensive tackle was clearly unfazed by the Swiftie outrage
Tart poked fun at Kelce after the game with this caption on his Instagram account
During Friday’s broadcast of the game in Sao Paulo, a decision analyst explained: ‘According to (NFL officiating rules analyst) Walt Anderson, they said because it was an open-hand contact to the head, that was not disqualifying action,’ he said.
‘On this one, they felt it was just an open hand blow to the head, not a closed fist, not a punch, and they did not disqualify in this case.’
Despite a late surge from the Chiefs, it was the Chargers who held on to win 27-21 in their opening game of the 2025 campaign in Sao Paulo.
It doesn’t get much easier for the Chiefs – next Sunday they’ve got a Super Bowl remach against Philadelphia Eagles at Arrowhead Stadium. Tart and the Chargers, meanwhile, have another divisional game against Las Vegas Raiders.
