Travis Kelce Facing Backlash After Wearing Controversial T-Shirt Ahead of Kansas City Chiefs Game

Travis Kelce is no stranger to making headlines, but this time, he’s found himself in the hot seat.

The Kansas City Chiefs tight end, 35, was spotted wearing a T-shirt with a photo collage of his teammate Rashee Rice and the words “Free 4” emblazoned across the front before the team took on the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, September 14.

Rice, 25, was driving a Lamborghini Urus SUV at high speeds in March 2024 before crashing on the North Central Expressway in Dallas, Texas. He and his former college teammate, Theodore “Teddy” Knox, were allegedly racing one another at the time and their aggressive maneuvers in traffic triggered a chain reaction of car accidents involving six cars.

The accident left several people injured, and authorities said that Rice left the scene without checking on the other drivers.

In July 2025, Rice pleaded guilty to two third-degree felony charges: collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury. He was given five years’ probation and 30 days in jail, and the following month, Rice was suspended from playing six games and he’s prohibited from practicing with the Chiefs.

Kelce and his teammate Tyquan Thornton both sparked outrage from Kathryn Kuykendall — who was injured in the crash — and her attorney slammed the Super Bowl champs for wearing the shirts.

“I respect that Kelce and Thornton support their teammate, but the ‘gym teacher’ needs to talk with the history teacher,” Kuykendall’s attorney Marc Lenahan said in a statement to TMZ on Monday, September 15, referencing Kelce and Taylor Swift’s recent engagement announcement. “Rashee isn’t Nelson Mandela or Pepe Mujica, men who fought for what they believed in. Free Rashee? He already thinks he’s getting away scot-free. He’s not paid a single cent of the $1.1 million judgment he already owes our client, who is living anything but pain-free.”

Rice previously issued a statement apologizing for the accident he caused.

“Last March, I was involved in a high-speed accident in Dallas,” he said in a statement through his attorney, per KMBC 9 News. “There have been a lot of sleepless nights thinking about the damages that my actions caused, and I will continue working within my means to make sure that everyone impacted will be made whole.”