Former Eagles center Jason Kelce has made a Constitutional argument in favor of allowing NFL players to criticize officials without facing league fines.
On a recent episode of his New Heights podcast, the show that the former Super Bowl champ and current ESPN analyst hosts with his brother, Chiefs star Travis Kelce, Jason went off on the possibility that Giants defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux could face fines for criticizing the officials for their blatant error in taking away a fumble by Eagles QB Jalen Hurts.
When asked about the play after the game, Thibodeaux called the referee’s decision “Bullsh*t” before teammate Brian Burns cautioned him that his rant could result in the league taking money out of his wallet.
Thibodeaux then changed his tune dramatically.
As a retired player, Jason Kelce had no problem discussing the issue.
“I don’t agree with that. Listen, you know me, I do not like complaining about officials. I never have. That’s not how I operate. I don’t think you should be fined. I think that’s bullsh*t, personally,” he said.
“I can’t give my opinion on what I thought about the call?” Travis asked.
“Yeah, what the f— is this? It’s the freedom of speech, baby! What the f*ck are we doing right here? … I don’t think you should be able to be fined for that. I think that’s nonsense. And I am all for having the officials’ back usually. But listen, it was a bad call. What do you want me to say?”
Here is the play in question.
Kelce is entirely correct. The officials’ call was terrible, and anyone should have the right to criticize people who aren’t doing their jobs or are incompetent, and NFL officials are certainly that.
It’s not a free speech issue, as the First Amendment only regulates what the government can do regarding speech, not what a non-governmental entity like the NFL can do, but he’s spot-on in a larger sense.
