The NFL has defended its extensive coverage of Taylor Swift amid ongoing rumours that she is dating Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
The ‘Midnights’ pop star was spotted sitting next to the American football player’s mother, Donna, at the Chiefs’ game against the Chicago Bears at the Arrowhead Stadium last month (September 24).
According to Consequence, Kelce and Swift’s apparent romance blossomed after he attended one of the singer’s ‘Eras Tour’ concerts at the same Kansas City venue this summer.
Kelce is said to have attempted to gift Swift a friendship bracelet with his phone number on it at the show. He later told Swift that he’d seen her “rock a stage in Arrowhead and she might have to come see me rock the stage at Arrowhead” as well.
Swift further fuelled the speculation by attending another NFL fixture at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey last Sunday (October 1).
The star’s recent appearances at the games have caused a frenzy on social media.
The Kansas City Chiefs’ official pages have also shared numerous posts about Swift, including temporarily changing their Instagram bio to “The @Chiefs are now 2-0 with @TaylorSwift13 in attendance” (via People).
The team also reportedly changed their TikTok header, which featured images of Swift.
However, this recent spotlight on the ‘Anti-Hero’ artist has caused annoyance among some football fans. Even Kelce said the NFL was “overdoing it a little bit” with the attention on him and Swift on yesterday’s edition of his podcast, New Heights.
The NFL has since addressed their Swift-related content in a statement, explaining: “We frequently change our bios and profile imagery based on what’s happening in and around our games, as well as culturally,
“The Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce news has been a pop cultural moment we’ve leaned into in real time, as it’s an intersection of sport and entertainment, and we’ve seen an incredible amount of positivity around the sport.”
The message added: “The vast majority of our content has remained focused on the game, our players and variety of other initiatives, including our Toy Story Funday Football alt-cast, the international games and more.”
