Jason Kelce Applauds Canadian Curlers' Controversial Olympic Victory
Retired Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce has humorously thrown his support behind the Canadian men's curling team, who faced intense cheating allegations during their gold medal run at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics. The scandal erupted when Swedish star Oskar Eriksson accused Canadian vice skip Marc Kennedy of 'double-touching' his deliveries, sparking a fiery on-ice confrontation.
Kelce's Tongue-in-Cheek Defense of Cheating Claims
On the latest episode of the New Heights podcast, Kelce quipped about the controversy, stating, 'Canada were caught for cheating, which, listen, you know my rule, "If you're not cheating you're not trying."' His brother Travis Kelce burst into laughter as Jason continued, 'Hey, no problem. They didn't even get a deduction. They got a slap on the wrist after the deal. I don't give a s***. I respect it.'
Kelce also praised Kennedy's explosive reaction to the accusations, which involved an expletive-laden rant directed at Eriksson. 'I like his reaction too,' Jason added. 'He knew he wasn't supposed to be doing it, they call him out and he's like, "No, what the f*** are you talking about?" Did you see his reaction? "F*** you, I didn't cheat." Knowing full well he just cheated. I love it. Deny, deny, deny.'
The Curling Scandal That Rocked the Winter Olympics
The incident occurred during the round-robin phase when Eriksson alleged that Kennedy had touched the curling stone again after releasing it at the hog line, where contact must legally cease. Kennedy responded with a profanity-filled outburst, telling the Swede to 'f*** off' and earning an official warning from World Curling for inappropriate language.
Following the confrontation, several other accusations of double-touching emerged, and Canada lost its next match against Switzerland. However, the team regrouped and ultimately secured the gold medal in Cortina. In response to the scandal, curling officials initially stationed umpires at the hog line to monitor for fouls but later reverted to the traditional system of players self-policing.
Accusations and Counterclaims Between Canada and Sweden
Kennedy and Canadian coach Paul Webster later claimed that Sweden had orchestrated a premeditated plan to catch them cheating, alleging that the Swedish team had installed cameras to monitor their actions. 'They have come up with a plan here at the Olympics, as far as I know, to catch teams in the act at the hog line,' Kennedy stated. 'This was planned... it was kind of evident that something was going on, and they were trying to catch us in an act.'
Sweden countered by asserting that they had been raising concerns about Canada's alleged cheating for seven or eight years, adding another layer of tension to the already heated rivalry. Despite the controversy and the intense scrutiny, the Canadian men's curling team managed to overcome the adversity and clinch the Olympic gold, cementing their victory amid a storm of allegations and denials.
