Getty Image / Tim Nwachukwu
Jason Kelce seems to be one of the most fun guys in sports. You never know what you’re going to get from the now-retired Philadelphia Eagles legend, whether it is going shirtless in the Buffalo winter or putting on a Mexican wrestling costume to celebrate his brother, Travis, winning the Super Bowl.
He’s kept us on our toes once again. This time, it’s a rant about the legendary thoroughbred Secretariat that is going viral on Twitter.
Travis Kelce was at last Saturday’s Kentucky Derby, which prompted the brothers to talk about horse racing on their podcast, New Heights.
On the podcast, Jason Kelce accused Secretariat, the 1973 winner of the Triple Crown who still owns the time record at all three races, of being a steroid user! He claims that since everyone else in sports was juicing in the 1970’s, so it stands to reason that Secretariat was too.
But, someone called him out on Twitter for his take. Jason Kelce decided to fire back.
Just going to put this out there, you know who else has enlarged hearts. People who take copious amounts of steroids. I’ll admit I don’t know whether Secretariat was on steroids or not, it’s impossible to know, because in 1973 when Secretariat won the triple crown there was not adequate testing available to find out. But, the fact this horse had unparalleled muscular stature and died with an enlarged heart, and raced at a time when steroids were extremely prevalent, without adequate testing, raises flags in my book. Thoroughbred steroid use dates back to the 60s at least. I’m not saying what Secretariat did was unimpressive, because he was likely also racing against other majorly juiced up horses of his time, and if Secretariat was indeed a natural horse, that would make his accomplishments all the more impressive. I just find it highly unlikely given the circumstances of where the sport was at at that time, how dominant the horse was in the era, and the records it still holds to this day. The enlarged heart in my mind is actually more evidence that at some point the horse was being juiced. There is a gene that some thoroughbreds carry that causes a larger heart, but this wasn’t just a larger heart, this was a heart large enough for the vet to say it was the largest heart he had ever seen. The horse was undoubtedly born with incredible natural mechanics and ability, and may have been natural, but I also think that it’s unlikely given the time it raced and what was happening with a lot of those horses and the lack of testing available.
After a lot of pushback, he issued an apology.
I’m sorry everyone, wasn’t trying to get people riled up, I really thought it was just known that in the 70s steroid use was rampant. I’m not trying to take away from Secretariat’s, or anyone from that eras legacy. You’re right, without proof it is unfair to assume these things publicly, I apologize.
Yes, Secretariat’s heart was abnormally big. But, he’s making a pretty big leap to Secretariat being doped up.
Who knows, maybe he did this bit for engagement. In that case, it accomplished his goal.