Come on now…
I’m not one to say things like, “Don’t you have anything better to do?” when the cops pull me over or hand out tickets for minor offenses. They’re doing their job, whether we like it or not.
But the cop who gave Jason Kelce an open container ticket back in college may just be the most petty cop of all time.
The Kelce brothers are both in New Orleans right now, with Travis Kelce obviously gearing up to try to lead his Kansas City Chiefs to their third straight Super Bowl win. And Jason Kelce is in town not only to cheer on his brother but also to get some content, including an episode of his New Heights podcast with Travis.
One of the great things about New Orleans (maybe one of the best things) is that there are no open container laws, meaning you can walk around outside with your drinks. Go from bar to bar with a drink in your hand, leave your hotel with a beer on the way to Bourbon Street, or just stroll around and sightsee while sipping on a cocktail. It’s perfect, and more cities need to embrace open containers. (Looking at you, Nashville).
But apparently Cincinnati still frowns on open containers, despite being home to the second-largest university in Ohio.
Jason Kelce told a story on his podcast this week about the time he got an open container ticket while in college at Cincinnati – and it sounds like the cop was just looking for a reason to bust him.
According to the retired Philadelphia Eagles center, he was at a house party shortly after turning 21 when the police showed up. But of course, he was of legal drinking age so he wasn’t really worried about it:
“I’m like, ‘I’m good.’ I’m drinking a beer in front of the cop, he’s like, ‘Do you live here?’
I said, ‘I’m 21.’ He’s like, ‘I did not ask that.'”
Apparently this cop wasn’t in the best of moods, because he told Kelce to get moving on down the road. So he did, and began making his way to another house to keep the party going.
Jason says that the next stop was only a couple of blocks away, and that when he was a couple of houses away, he reached into the case he was carrying and went ahead and cracked a beer. Perfectly reasonable, right?
Well not to this cop:
“We are maybe three houses before I’m in that front door. I reach into the case, take a can of beer out, crack it, WOOP WOOP.
Guy pulls up, rolls his window down, same cop. ‘Well well well, if it isn’t Mr. 21.”
Of course Kelce got a good laugh about it now, but man, that cop was really looking to be petty if he was going to write open container tickets for somebody he knows is 21 cracking a beer before they’re technically inside the house.
Seems like that’s just another example of why more cities need to be like New Orleans and just allow open containers.
Before he was #62 Jason was Mr. 21 😂 pic.twitter.com/AEmoXW60Wr
— New Heights (@newheightshow) February 6, 2025
