Chargers Player Who Slapped Travis Kelce Trolls Him with Taylor Swift Reference

Teair Tart isn’t holding back.

The Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle took another jab at Travis Kelce after slapping him in the face during their game against the Kansas City Chiefs in São Paulo, Brazil on Friday, Sept. 5.

A day after Tart, 28, decided to hit Kelce, 35, in his facemask during the Chargers’ 27-21 win, Tart took a verbal jab at the tight end on Instagram.

“I’m too swift with it even in Brazil…” he captioned his post, which included photos and videos from the game, in addition to a slide from the movie How High, of a character getting slapped in the face.

Commenters believe Tart’s caption is a not-so-subtle reference to Kelce’s fiancée, Taylor Swift, and comes just a few days after after the couple announced their engagement news on Aug. 26.

Swifities, specifically, called out the Chargers player for his actions and words against the Chiefs star.

“Nice attempt at being relevant by putting down a widely successful woman,” wrote one user.

“taylor swift has more super bowls than your team btw,” commented another, a reference to the “Karma” singer dating Kelce when his team won the 2024 Super Bowl, in contrast to the Chargers, who are still searching for their first championship.

“Crazy how you finally made headlines… for slapping, not sacking. 👋😂,” wrote a third user, while a fourth commented, “Bro ragbaited a entire fanbase with a caption😂.”

The altercation between Tart and Kelce took place after a two-yard run by Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt with just over eight minutes remaining in the third quarter of the game.

The referee threw a flag on the play, calling a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty on Tart. However, they ruled the slap was not a “disqualifying action,” per The Sporting News, and he was able to stay in the game.

Terry McAulay, a former referee who served as YouTube’s rules analyst Friday during the livestream, explained that Tart wasn’t disqualified for his gesture because the slap was an “open hand contact to the head,” rather than a close-fisted punch.

The penalty moved the football to the Chargers’ 11-yard line.

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes reached the end zone on an 11-yard run on the ensuing play, which cut Kansas City’s deficit to 13-12. Harrison Butker then missed a game–tying extra point.

Kelce scored a 37-yard touchdown, too, after completing a pass from Mahomes (marking his first touchdown of the 2025 NFL season). He celebrated with a victory dance and bull-mimicking celebration in the end zone.

However, the Chargers ultimately defeated the Chiefs to start the season 1-0.