Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce and Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, both former University of Cincinnati Bearcats standouts, discussed New England Patriots quarterback Mack Jones’ kneeling of Bengals defensive back Eli Apple during Cincinnati’s Week 16 win. The most recent episode of their “New Heights” podcast.
“He’s a guy who talks a lot of s—, and Mac Jones was probably fed up with it,” Travis Apple said. But he later criticized Jones’ hitting, saying, “You hate to see it – that kind of stuff has no business in the league.”
“Try to keep your cool in times like this and especially when things aren’t going well – that’s what usually happens,” Travis added. “Frustration includes not having success on the field. And what a big ball (expletive). And you just do something stupid. … He needs to be punished.”
“He’s definitely going to be fined,” Jason said of Jones. “The league needs to take a stand against him.” I really don’t think – I mean, I know it’s rubbish. As far as dirt goes, I really don’t think it’s that bad. … I saw it for the first time. I thought it was dirty as hell because, like Eli Apple, he wasn’t even in the game. Like where three people get the ball back – it was very strange that he chose to do that. It looks dirty. What if he wanted to get on his knees – like a hard-core – and try to roll over the gator? He seemed to lie before him like a sad dog. As it was set, it was disabled. I don’t think he meant to hurt like everyone personally thinks. Definitely not acceptable. … He has other questions that I think are even dirtier. one.”
When asked if he considered himself a dirty player and whether he would consider appealing the NFL’s punishment, Jones had the following to say to reporters:
“Everybody has an opinion and the biggest thing for me is to focus on being the best teammate I can be and getting the respect of the people in this building and the people I love. Obviously, I have the respect of everyone in the league. It takes a lot to get to this league. There are good players and we’re all playing hard and trying to win. At the end of the day, you have to take that into account. It’s a game and you want to do it. Just have fun, enjoy it and challenge each other, that’s what I always do, and I know my teammates appreciate that about me. “I’m focused on this week and I’m doing my job. That’s the main thing, every week you watch the film of the game you played and try to figure out what you can do better. I’m kind. Or what can I do better now in this process and how can I do my job better?” .”
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