Teair Tart Fined for Assaulting Travis Kelce
Los Angeles Chargers defensive tackle Teair Tart has been fined by the NFL after slapping Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce during the Chargers’ 27-21 Week 1 victory in Sao Paulo, Brazil. A source revealed the information to Alofoke Deportes. According to NFL rules, the fine for a first offense of physical contact is $12,172. The league announces the fines on Saturday afternoons. The action occurred in the third quarter, after Kelce pushed Tart. The latter responded by slapping Kelce’s helmet, resulting in a 15-yard penalty for unnecessary roughness. Rules analyst Terry McAulay explained on the YouTube broadcast that Tart was not ejected because he made contact with an open hand, which does not warrant disqualification. Had it been a closed fist, Tart would have been ejected. Tart signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Chargers in the offseason, and the team paid him a $2 million bonus before offseason activities. In addition, Tart receives a $58,000 bonus for each regular season game he participates in, in addition to his guaranteed salary.Following the incident, Tart posted on Instagram an apparent indirect message towards Kelce and his fiancée, singer Taylor Swift. Tart’s post included a collage of images, including a video with a scene from a movie where a man slaps another with hands covered in white powder. Tart’s caption read: “I’m too swift with that, even in Brazil.” In response to the post, commenters flooded Tart’s Instagram account with racist images. The Chargers and Chiefs will face off again in Week 15.I don’t understand that rule. I don’t know what their decision was regarding it. They definitely hit him in the head pretty hard, whether it was with an open hand or a closed fist.
Andy Reid, coach of the Kansas City Chiefs
