Jason Kelce on Monday dressed for his retirement news conference like he was about to take the field for pregame warmups and he even had his ankles taped for the occasion. He could not have had a better reason for that.
Joe O’Pella, a trainer who has been with the Philadelphia Eagles for years, shared a tribute to Kelce on social media that went viral. O’Pella revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer this season, which prevented him from being with the team for much of the year. O’Pella said he had taped Kelce’s ankles and thumbs every game throughout the All-Pro center’s 13-year career, but the trainer was unable to for Philadelphia’s wild-card loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in January.
So Kelce had O’Pella tape his ankles for the retirement presser.
“And in what would be his final season, when I was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo radiation and chemo, he offered his shore house if I needed to get away, and offered to pay for meal services to help my wife and I out," O'Pella wrote on Instagram, "and he called me randomly when I had been home, too sick to come in bc of chemo, just to check on me and chat about random things. That’s who he is as a person."
The trainer then went into further detail about his relationship with Kelce.
“I taped this guy’s ankles and thumbs everyday for 13 seasons, and when he played his last game in Tampa, again I couldn’t be there due to cancer," O'Pella wrote. "And when he told me he would be retiring and I expressed my regret of not being the last person to ever tape him, he offered to have me tape him for his retirement press conference. That’s who he is. And I hope these stories can add to an already unbelievable legacy.”
When discussing his unique news conference outfit during the latest episode of the “New Heights” podcast, Kelce gave O’Pella a shoutout.
“A lot of people don’t know this, but one of the trainers with the Eagles has been battling cancer all season long,” Kelce said. “He’s been there my entire career too, Joe O’Pella. Thankfully, he’s in remission. They don’t have any signs of it. They’re still gonna, I think, do an operation to really make sure, but he’s looking good. He wasn’t able to tape me for any of the games this year and he’s taped my ankles my while career, so he taped my ankles for the press conference one last time.”
Some people thought Kelce should have dressed a bit nicer for his farewell speech, but the wardrobe now looks like a perfect choice.
Between the ankles being taped and his hilarious Nick Foles reference, Kelce certainly went out with a bang.
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