Andy Reid Questions Why Teair Tart Was Not Ejected After Slapping Travis Kelce
Chiefs coach says he does not understand rule allowing open-hand contact to the head to avoid disqualification after season-opening loss in Brazil
Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Monday he remains puzzled that Los Angeles Chargers defensive lineman Teair Tart was allowed to stay in the game after striking Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce in the head during the teams’ season-opening loss in Brazil.
The incident occurred in the third quarter of the Chargers’ 27-21 victory, when Kelce and Tart clashed on a block and Tart, after having his left arm pushed away, used his right hand to slap Kelce’s helmet. Tart was flagged for unnecessary roughness but was not ejected.
“I don’t understand that rule,” Reid said, according to NFL.com. “I guess it’s open-hand, fist, whatever, I don’t know. I don’t know what their decision was on that. But he definitely got hit in the head pretty hard, whether it was an open fist or a closed fist.” When asked whether he planned to seek league clarification, Reid said, “I’ll work out that with the league. I can’t get into all that.”
Television rules analysts said the on-field decision hinged on the distinction between open-hand contact and a punch. During the Friday broadcast, analyst Walt Anderson was quoted saying that because the contact was with an open hand to the head, it did not meet the criteria for disqualifying action under current officiating guidelines.
Kelce, in his 13th NFL season, scored a touchdown to open the year for Kansas City but the Chiefs could not overcome the loss. The teams will meet again on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium for Kansas City’s home opener against the Philadelphia Eagles, a rematch of the Super Bowl in which the Eagles ended the Chiefs’ bid for a three-peat in February.
The episode has drawn attention in part because of Kelce’s heightened profile this offseason; he and pop superstar Taylor Swift announced their engagement in August, and Swift did not attend the Week 1 game in Brazil. It was not announced whether she would be at Sunday’s home opener.
NFL rules on player disqualification for blows to the head are intended to protect player safety, but the application of those rules can hinge on officials’ determination of whether contact was a closed-fist punch or an open-hand strike and whether it was forceful enough to warrant ejection. The league’s officiating department has the authority to review such plays and to communicate interpretations of the rule to teams, and Reid said he would pursue clarification through those channels.
The Chargers’ win spoiled Kansas City’s overseas opener and set the stage for a high-profile return to Arrowhead, where the Chiefs will seek answers both on the scoreboard and on the enforcement of rules related to player safety.