Teair Tart Pokes Fun At Travis Kelce In First Social Media Post Since Slapping Him During NFL Season Opener

Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle Teair Tart doesn't seem fazed by the online hate he's been receiving from Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift fans. In fact, the 28-year-old appears to be thriving, poking fun at the powerhouse couple and Swift's loyal fanbase with a savage Instagram post and a cheeky caption.

Kelce's Kansas City Chiefs faced off against Tart's Los Angeles Chargers during the NFL's season opener on September 5 in Brazil. The contest was an intense, back-and-forth scoring affair.

During the game, Kelce and Tart made headlines after getting into a bit of a shoving match at the end of a play, leading Tart to slap Kelce on the front of the helmet with an open hand. According to a previous report from The Blast, the referees called a flag on the play and assessed the Chargers a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty.

Tart was not removed from the game. YouTube rules analyst Terry McAulay shared that the referees decided against ejecting the 6'2", 315-pound lineman because "it was an open-hand contact to the head."

Kelce fans flooded Tart's Instagram comments immediately following the slap heard around the world. One user questioned whether football was the right sport for the Philadelphia native, while another told Tart he'd never be as skilled at football as Kelce.

Other users shared hurtful comments about Tart's appearance, with one writing, "You dress like a teenager," and another calling him a "fat-ss."

The comments, however, don't seem to have impacted Tart, considering he shared a new Instagram post, seemingly trolling his trolls.

After being trolled by Swifties and Chiefs fans, Tart shared a new photo dump—three shots of him on the football field, and, most pointedly, a clip from a movie showing a man being slapped. "I'm too swift with it even from Brazil," he captioned the post.

The comments were much of the same, with one writing, "Slapping another player on their helmet being the highlight of your career is sad."

However, on Reddit, Tart was met with much support.

"Seeing Kelce get slapped around brought me joy," one Redditor posted, while another called him a "hero."

Several other users shared memes and GIFs of people laughing, hinting they were unbothered by the on-field scuffle.

Earlier in the week, Philadelphia Eagles star Jalen Carter received similar pushback from fans after slow-motion replays showed the defensive lineman spitting on Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

Prescott told reporters he found Carter's behavior to be "insulting" before calling the encounter "unfortunate."

"I know how excited each and every one of us are right to kick off the season and the season opener, and hell of a player like that doesn't even get a chance in the first play," Prescott said. "Unfortunate circumstances."

Super Bowl champion Ryan Clark slammed Carter on X, labeling his behavior "disrespectful [and] disgusting stuff."

ESPN host Stephen A. Smith shared a similar message, posting, "WTH did I just see? Jalen Carter, the best players on the Eagles defense, just got thrown out of the game before a freakin snap for SPITTING."

He added, "To hell with just an ejection. Suspend that man. How in the HELL could you do something like that? Inexcusable! Stupid. Selfish."

Aside from his incident with Tart, Kelce had a night to be proud of, finishing with two receptions for 47 yards and a touchdown.

His performance, however, was not surprising, considering he spent his offseason reflecting on a lackluster 2024 season and pinpointing ways he could be better. The Super Bowl champion explained that he "might have slipped" last year because he was focused on other things.

Kelce explained that he was "trying to set myself up" for when his NFL career is over, which meant filming scripted TV shows and hosting game competitions. "And opportunities came up where I was excited to venture into a new world of acting and being an entertainer," he said.

Kelce is locked in this year, though. "I'm just saying that my work ethic is such that I have so much pride in how I do things that I never want the product to tail off, and I feel like these past two years haven't been to my standard," he said.

"Win a Super Bowl is the only goal," he said. "It's the only goal. It's every goal."