Did Travis Kelce Skip Chiefs Game to Attend DNC? What Photos Show

Kansas City Chiefs superstar tight end Travis Kelce was in Chicago Thursday night, but did not make a stop at the Democratic National Convention (DNC).
Rumors swirled all week that a surprise special guest would take the stage at the United Center before Vice President Kamala Harris formally accepted the Democratic Party’s 2024 presidential nomination. TMZ reported earlier in the night that global megastar Beyoncé—whose song “Freedom” has been the theme of Harris’ campaign—was planning on making an appearance, although one of her representatives dismissed the report a few minutes before Harris took the stage.
Other fans suggested that Taylor Swift, who backed President Joe Biden and Harris in 2020, may perform now that she had wrapped up her European tour. But the vice president walked out in front of thousands of cheering supporters without any major frills Thursday, with Democratic North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper preceding her keynote speech.
Rumors also circled that Kelce, who is dating Swift, had asked to attend the DNC, despite his team having a preseason game against the Chicago Bears on the same night. CBS News’ Gayle King said on the sidelines of the convention Thursday that she was “told a couple days ago” that Kelce “had reached out to the Harris campaign when it was first announced and said that he wanted to be here on the night that she was speaking.”
“We’ll see if that is true,” King added, who acknowledged that Kelce had a game at the same time. “But that doesn’t mean that he is playing.”
Kelce did in fact ride the bench Thursday, alongside star quarterback Patrick Mahomes and other members of his team’s starting lineup. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid told reporters ahead of the matchup at Soldier Field, “I’ll probably sit the starters the way it looks right now, and we’ll have the other guys get out there and play.”
WDAF sports reporter PJ Green posted a video on X, formerly Twitter, of Kelce walking to the field before kickoff, writing in the post that the star tight end “gets to relax tonight.” Kelce walked in wearing a T-shirt that repped “USA Basketball.”
Green reported in a separate post on X that Kelce still got some “pregame” work in despite not playing Thursday.
The Bears ended up beating the Chiefs 34-21 on Thursday. Kansas City, the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champions, have lost all three of their preseason games. Their home opener against the Baltimore Ravens is on Thursday, September 5, at 8:20 p.m. EST.