Travis Kelce has been criticized after he smiled for a ‘tone deaf’ selfie with a police officer outside a Kansas City restaurant just hours after the horrific shooting at the Chiefs’ Super Bowl parade.
On Wednesday, shots rang out moments after Kelce, Patrick Mahomes and their teammates had left the stage in front of the city’s Union Station with one dead and 21 injured – included nine children.
Three people are in custody in connection with the incident, including the young man tackled to the ground by a heroic group of fans as he attempted to flee the scene.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas gave an update on the investigation on Thursday morning, saying he is considering blocking any Super Bowl victory parades next year if the Chiefs win again following Wednesday’s horror mass shooting.
But fans are now calling Kelce’s behavior into question after a spate of controversial incidents since he took to the field in Las Vegas for Sunday’s Super Bowl – which saw the Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers in overtime.
Travis Kelce has caused outrage after smiling for a selfie hours after the Kansas City shooting
Terrified parade-goers flee for their lives after gunmen opened fire shortly after the parade
Three suspects remain under questioning over the tragedy, but law enforcement declined to identify the gunmen who shot 21 people and killed one at Wednesday’s Super Bowl parade
The latest arrived on Wednesday night when a picture surfaced showing Taylor Swift’s boyfriend smiling as he agreed to take a selfie with a police officer.
Kelce, who can be seen with a beer in his hand, was all smiles as he entered the Granfalloon Restaurant and Bar on Wednesday night.
According to TMZ he was joining other teammates, who were already inside, for dinner just hours after the chaotic scenes in the city.
Angry fans have taken to social media to accuse the football player of being ‘tone deaf’ and lacking compassion.
One wrote: ‘There is a time for everything, and that wasn’t the time for a picture’.
Another commented ‘not a good look. this is really bad’ while another added that Taylor Swift’s ‘people’ are ‘having a sit down with Taylor at this point’.
‘I can smell the liquor through my phone. He really looks concerned,’ wrote another.
A statement posted to Kelce’s X account earlier on Wednesday read: ‘I am heartbroken over the tragedy that took place today.
‘My heart is with all who came out to celebrate with us and have been affected. KC, you mean the world to me.’
Fans took to social media to share the outrage, including one who called Kelce a ‘narcissist’
Earlier on Wednesday, a drunken Kelce could barely speak and stand up as he took to the stage in front of a million adoring Chiefs fans at the finale of the team’s parade.
Kelce tried to lead a drunken rendition of Garth Brooks’ 1990 country hit ‘Friends In Low Places’ after being passed the mic.
At the start of the song he tweaked one of Brooks’ lyrics to aim a dig at San Francisco, singing: ‘Blame it all on my roots, I showed up in boots, and ruined the Niners’ affair.’
But after a day of partying back in Kansas City, the celebrations appeared to take their toll on Kelce as he struggled to get his words out and finish the rest of the song.
The likes of Mahomes and Chris Jones were even forced to step in and prevent him from falling over at one stage, before eventually taking the mic from their groggy teammate.
It came after Chiefs coach Andy Reid admitted the players were told not to have ‘too much fun’ during the parade after Jaylen Watson left last year’s celebrations in a wheelchair.
Watson, who was filmed downing a large portion of a Hennessy bottle, was apparently so inebriated following the Chiefs’ win over the Eagles that he couldn’t walk.
A boozy Kelce had to be held up by his Chiefs teammates at their Super Bowl parade
Kelce could barely get his words out as he tried to lead a rendition of ‘Friends In Low Places’
The likes of Patrick Mahomes and Chris Jones had to step in to stop him from falling over
The initial ‘red flag’ arrived during the Super Bowl itself when Kelce exploded into a fit of rage towards Chiefs coach Reid on the sideline.
With Swift watching on at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the tight end was furious he did not receive the ball on a play during the early stages of the game.
Heading back to the bench, Kelce got in the face of his 65-year-old coach, before quickly being pulled away by a teammate.
Approaching from the side, cameras caught Kelce storming towards the coach and bumping into him, causing him to temporarily lose his footing.
Kelce, 34, then grabbed his coach’s arm as he turned to face him, again screaming in his face – before being pulled away by fellow Chiefs player Jerrod McKinnon.
Mayor Lucas offered scant new details on the tragedy early Thursday morning, and apologized for ‘failing to keep everybody safe’ at the family event at a 6am press conference Thursday.
‘I’m sorry that this happened yesterday,’ he said.
‘We worked hard to put on an exceptional parade, we spent millions on it, but we failed to keep everybody safe and that’s something I have great guilt over.’
The tight end almost caused Reid to fall over during an incredible touchline meltdown in Vegas
Kelce was apoplectic after not being used during the first half of the Super Bowl in Las Vegas
It was a happy ending for Kelce though as the Chiefs won an overtime thriller 25-22 in Vegas
He added in an interview with CBS that a motive for the massacre remains a mystery, and condemned the ease of access to firearms in Missouri as ‘this is not the way I want to live.’
Lucas condemned the easy access the gunmen had to deadly weapons, citing how there were over 800 cops stationed at the parade that were powerless to prevent a senseless mass shooting.
‘Clearly, there is an access to firearm issue for some in our community,’ he said.
‘There’s a person or persons who intentionally or unintentionally fire into a crowd and hit almost two dozen people, our officers can be on it in an instant yet there’s still this level of harm.
‘We need to do something about the fact that some of these people are able to get these guns in the first place.
‘I don’t know what we’ll do about it ultimately, but we need to find national and local solutions to it.’