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Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce says "everyone" has been pronouncing his last name incorrectly for years, but his mother says he's wrong.
In a clip from a Barstool Sports podcast that was recently resurfaced on Twitter, Kelce, 31, said his name is pronounced "Kells," and not "Kel-see," as fans, announcers, and others have been saying since he joined the NFL in 2013.
But local news channel FOX 4 KC called up his mom to get confirmation - and she said it's pronounced "Kel-see."
-Braiden Turner (@bturner23) July 14, 2021
Kelce's brother, Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce, also pronounced his name "Kel-see" in a video from the 2011 NFL combine.
The Barstool clip trended on Twitter, with many of Kelce's teammates reacting in sock.
Teammate Patrick Mahomes said Kelce had "never corrected him," and that "You learn something new everyday."
As the Barstool video and Kelce's teammates' reactions trended, a clip of Kelce from 2020 also showed him pronouncing his last name as "Kells."
-Harold R. Kuntz (@HaroldRKuntz3) July 14, 2021
Jason Kelce, meanwhile, told SportsRadio 94WIP that both his brother and mother are technically right.
He said that while his wider family goes by "Kells," his immediate has gone by "Kel-see" for decades because his father was "tired of correcting everybody" and opted to use that permanently "out of pure laziness."
