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WHAT A KIND GESTURE: Jason Kelce Reaches Out to Combat Veteran Suffering from PTSD After Seeing Post on the Eagles Star’s Facebook Page: ‘Brother, You Okay? You Need Someone to Talk to?’
A combat veteran shared a heartwarming story about Jason Kelce days after the former Philadelphia Eagles center retired from the NFL.
After playing all 13 of his seasons at the City of Brotherly Love, the 36-year-old officially announced his retirement from the sport during a press conference on Monday. His exit from the sport was met by a flood of tributes as one of Philadelphia’s most beloved athletes.
On Tuesday, a veteran named Randy called 94 WIP Sports Radio to share how Kelce called him personally amid a PTSD episode.
‘I evidently posted something something on Jason’s Facebook page,’ Randy said. ‘And he called me up, he reached out and said ‘Brother are you okay? You need somebody to talk to?”
Randy detailed how his PTSD was triggered by getting COVID-19 and being out of work. He also described the experience as the ‘lowest time’ in his life.
This gentleman by the name of Randy, who is a combat veteran, called into WIP & told this amazing story about receiving a message from Jason Kelce during the darkest time of his life. Chills.
‘I’m a combat veteran and I’ve seen a lot and done a lot,’ Randy shared. ‘I was going through some stuff, I got hit with COVID. And I never had any PTSD, nothing like that. I’ve always been able to handle that. Like kind of compartmentalize it and never really worried about it.
‘Well I got COVID in November [20]22 and it triggered something in my head and I ended up being out of work [for] ten weeks. There’s the wall, reliving kill shots, it was just horrible. The lowest time in my life.’
Randy got emotional as he narrated Kelce’s effort to reach out to him as he dealt with the condition. He reiterated how Kelce is his favorite player and the heartfelt act helped him through the adversity.
‘He’s been my favorite player since his second year in the league. I’ve had his jersey. Just this one, it’s great for him but man, man.’
Kelce reportedly turned down a $9million extension with the Eagles to hang up his cleats. Over his career, Kelce made seven Pro Bowl appearances, six First Team All-Pro selections and won the Super Bowl in 2017.