Donna Kelce Admits One of Her Sons Had To Wear a Leash as a Kid — & He’ll Never Live It Down
We all have an embarrassing incident from our childhood that will follow us for eternity. For Jason Kelce, it’s the fact that he once got left behind Home Alone style as a kid (more on that later), and for Travis Kelce, it’s that he was put on a leash. The Kansas City Chiefs tight end revealed earlier this year that he was “a leash kid.” What was once a bit of family lore is now a favorite tidbit for listeners of the Kelce brothers’ New Heights podcast, and it was brought up again on today’s episode.
Last time, he just haphazardly threw that information out there — but this time, mom Donna Kelce was there to provide context and set the record straight. She wasn’t a restrictive mother; he was a flight risk.
“You were on a leash for only like one festival because we were scared to death you were gonna run off with the carnies,” she said. “I couldn’t catch you, Trav. You were so fast.”
Which tracks, considering the Super Bowl winner completed the 40-yard dash in 4.61 seconds before being drafted.
“You were little, we couldn’t find you,” she said. “You would dip in and out of cars. And I’m like, ‘I can’t have you dying.'”
Right! And she couldn’t lose a future Super Bowl winner and Taylor Swift’s boyfriend! Er, we mean, her son. She couldn’t lose her son. Full stop.
“So yeah, that’s what we did,” she continued. “It was a short 6-month period [when you were between 1 and 2] until you understood how dangerous it was.”
The conversation could have ended there, but big brother Jason did what every big brother is morally obligated to do and prodded his mom for more embarrassing details. He asked her what kind of leash it was, dying to paint the perfect mental image.
“It wasn’t a leash,” she laughed, knowing he was picturing a collar around Travis’ neck. “It was a harness over his shoulders and around his chest.”
“It was a short 6-month period,” she repeated, “and it was only when there was a lot of traffic, we were going somewhere, or whatever. I couldn’t carry you, you were just too heavy.”
Which also tracks. He now weighs 250 pounds.
But don’t worry, Donna. We stand by your choice. Plenty of parents put leashes — excuse us, harnesses — on their speedy kiddos. It’s all in the name of safety. And the endless heckling of Uncle Travvy is all in good fun.
And he wasn’t the only one getting roasted. Because it turns out Jason had a penchant for getting lost. It happened at a fair, it happened two blocks from their house, and it happened on a road trip to Chicago.
“I didn’t get lost,” he insisted about the road trip. “I was in the place that you left. You guys left me.”
Donna explained that she had given the boys $10 worth of quarters for the video games at rest stops. When Donna left the car to go to the bathroom, she saw that Jason and her husband Ed — also a guest on the latest episode of the podcast, along with Jason’s wife Kylie Kelce — were asleep, and that Travis was “in the back or something like that with a sleeping bag over your head.” When she came back, she thought she saw all three heads, but little Jason had gotten out with his trusty quarters.
“Sure enough, I drove off and you immediately stood straight up and you and you’re like, ‘Jason, we left Jason,'” she told Travis.
“Yeah, it was a prick move,” he conceded. “I definitely could have told you before you hit the freeway.”
A freeway where you have to drive 20 miles to be able to turn around. Ed jumped out of the car and ran to get his oldest son.
“He was grabbing his chest and I thought he was gonna have a heart attack. I’m like, ‘Are you okay?'”
Just how far he ran is apparently up for debate. Donna said two miles, but Jason claims that number has been inflated over the years. But that’s how things go. Half a mile turns into two miles. A harness turns into a leash. And it all turns into hilarious memories for the family … and for the fans.
Before you go, check out these celebrity kiddos who love cheering on their NFL dads.
