How Travis Kelce left an undrafted Chiefs rookie stunned with one unexpected gesture(Getty)
And then proceeds to sit down and have a normal convo with me, like just a regular convo,” he said. “At that moment right there with my boy Trav, I realized like bro is just a regular cool a** dude, bro,” Gathings said. For Gathings, the surprise came from more than the food. This was Travis Kelce, one of the biggest names in the NFL , choosing to sit beside an undrafted rookie he barely knew and have a normal conversation. Gathings admitted that he was stunned by how casually Kelce treated him. “Just imagine you sitting there eating your lunch and all of a sudden Travis Kelce comes up beside you and say, ‘Boy, you straight? “Funny as hell, like fun to be around. Bro is cool as hell.”
During The Pivot Podcast episode released on November 8, 2024, Edwards-Helaire described Kelce as a “big brother” and said, “I really look at him as a big brother and I needed somebody to lean on. He also revealed that Kelce would check in on him and called him “GBC,” short for Good Brother Clyde. “In a lot of those times kind of dealing with my mental health, it seemed like nobody else noticed,” he said.
Gathings was not the only young Chiefs player who felt Kelce’s support away from the field. Clyde Edwards-Helaire has spoken openly about how Kelce noticed when he was struggling with his mental health and became someone he could lean on. “And he did, you know? Those moments show a side of his leadership that does not appear on the stat sheet. He notices people, especially teammates who might otherwise feel overlooked, and makes sure they know they are not alone.
Months earlier, Edwards-Helaire had explained why Kelce’s support stood out.