NFL fines Chiefs' Travis Kelce for 'Foot Locker' blast against referee
All the money Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is giving up in fines sure could buy a lot of shoes.
The NFL docked Kelce $21,615, including $12,500 for a personal attack on an individual game official after last week's playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a person with knowledge of the fine told Paste BN Sports on Friday.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because those fines aren't made public.
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The target of Kelce's criticism was referee Carl Cheffers, whom Kelce told reporters "shouldn't even be able to work at (expletive) Foot Locker" after a holding penalty wiped out what would've been a tying two-point conversion by the Chiefs.
According to multiple reports, Cheffers will be the referee for Super Bowl LI next month in Houston.
The other $9,115 fine for Kelce was the result of his inexplicable decision to deck Steelers defensive back Ross Cockrell after a play.
This isn't Kelce's first costly run-in with officials.
In November, the NFL fined Kelce $24,309 for consecutive unsportsmanlike conduct penalties that led to his ejection — the first for something Kelce said to an official, and the second for taking a towel from his waistband and throwing it like a penalty flag in the direction of the official who had just penalized him.
In 2014, the NFL fined him $11,205 for making a dismissive, sexual gesture next to a referee who was announcing a penalty.
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