Travis Kelce was among the Kansas City Chiefs stars who went ahead with a ‘scaled down’ celebration just hours after a mass shooting saw the team’s Super Bowl parade descend into tragedy – while other teammates stayed away.
In new pictures, obtained by DailyMail.com, star tight end Kelce – whose relationship with Taylor Swift dominated the NFL this season – was seen in a Kansas City sports bar on Wednesday alongside several teammates and their WAGs – including Patrick Mahomes’ wife Brittany.
He is part of a small group that also includes Brittany, Chiefs punter Tommy Townsend, center Creed Humphrey, tight end Matt Bushman – and his wife Emily.
Sources told DailyMail.com that Mahomes booked the entire venue out for a select few members of the squad and their families. Many of Andy Reid’s team stayed away following the attack which left one person dead and dozens injured in Kansas City.
But Kelce, who led a rendition of the Beastie Boys’ hit ‘Fight For Your Right (to party)’ following the Chiefs’ Super Bowl win, was among those to head out.
This new image is sure to pose more questions for the tight end, who has already come under fire after posing for a smiling selfie with a police officer in the wake of the deadly shooting.
Travis Kelce is seen smiling with his Chiefs teammates after a shooting during the parade
Kelce caused outrage after smiling for a selfie hours after the Kansas City shooting
Kelce visited this Kansas City sports bar on Wednesday following the Chiefs’ parade
‘The bar was closed for a private event – not a party,’ one source told DailyMail.com
There is a figurine of Kelce in his No 87 Chiefs jersey inside the restaurant in Kansas City
‘The bar was closed for a private event – not a party,’ one source told DailyMail.com.
‘It was a small number of the players, including Travis and Patrick, with their wives and other family members.
‘They were here for a couple of hours, and they helped to cheer up the staff and keep their minds off what happened.
‘It had all been planned out in advance, initially it was meant to be bigger but it got scaled down.’
Kelce has a signed jersey in the restaurant, as well as Mahomes. The bar is decorated with Kansas City memorabilia, with two large bobble heads of the tight end framing the bar.
The tight end appeared in good spirits as he clutched a beer on his way into the Granfalloon Restaurant and Bar, just hours after being rushed off stage with his teammates as several gunmen opened fire on their throes of fans.
At least 30 people were injured in the horror parade shooting, including nine children aged between six and 15, with tributes pouring in for a beloved Kansas City radio DJ who was killed.
Kelce’s post-shooting selfies sparked backlash from some fans, with one saying: ‘Not a good look IMO for him a few hours after a person was killed and others wounded.’
Others defended the Super Bowl star and felt he had a right to enjoy a meal out with his team, hours after he said he was ‘heartbroken’ over the horror shooting.
‘My heart is with all who came out to celebrate with us and have been affected. KC, you mean the world to me,’ he said on X.
Kelce sparked backlash with his antics after the parade, during which he appeared too drunk to speak
Kelce joined his team for a meal out at the Granfalloon Restaurant and Bar in Kansas City
Kelce enjoyed his night out hours before Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas gave an update on the investigation, saying he is considering blocking any Superbowl victory parades next year if the Chiefs win again following Wednesday’s horror mass shooting.
The mayor, 39, said three suspects remain under questioning over the tragedy (two of which are juveniles), but declined to identify the gunmen who shot 21 people and killed one at Wednesday’s Superbowl parade.
Mayor Lucas didn’t rule out further arrests, and cops said that at least ten people were spoken to in connection with the incident. Multiple firearms were seized as well.
Lucas offered scant new details on the tragedy early Thursday morning, and apologized for ‘failing to keep everybody safe’ at the family event at a 6am press conference Thursday.
‘I’m sorry that this happened yesterday,’ he said.
‘We worked hard to put on an exceptional parade, we spent millions on it, but we failed to keep everybody safe and that’s something I have great guilt over.’
He added in an interview with CBS that a motive for the massacre remains a mystery, and condemned the ease of access to firearms in Missouri as ‘this is not the way I want to live.’
Lucas did not offer specifics on the type of gun used, but said it appeared to be ‘some sort of rapid-fire firearm.’
