Jason Kelce Reveals Why He Couldn't Turn Down the Chance to Arm Wrestle Team USA's Nicole Heavirland

Mar. 15, 2025

While appearing on the latest installment of theGreen Light with Chris Longpodcast, Kelce, 36, explained why he initially hesitated to take on the fellow athlete, 29.

“Dude, I hate saying yes to arm wrestling. Especially when it’s always somebody that’s smaller than you because it’s like a losing situation," said Kelce. “Like if I win, it’s like, ‘Oh, look at the big guy picking on the smaller person.' "

The former NFL star, however, chose to take on the challenge in the spirit of the Olympics.

“I’m at the Olympics, obviously. And [Nicole is] like, ‘Do you want to arm wrestle?’ I’m like, alright, I’m not going to turn down arm wrestling an Olympian at the Olympics,” he said.

Although Heavirland lost the match, she shared a clip of her interaction with Kelce onInstagram, writing over the video: “Challenged Jason Kelce to an arm wrestle.”

Jason Kelce wears shirt with Ilona Maher’s face.New Heights Show/Twitter

New Heights Show/Twitter

The retired Philadelphia Eagles player’s wife,Kylie Kelce, who accompanied him on the trip, hilariously commented on the video, “I tried to warn you!”

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Jason Kelce at the 2024 Paris Olympics.Ilona Maher/TikTok

Ilona Maher/TikTok

In a conversation with theAssociated Press, Jason explained why he and Kylie chose to take full advantage of their time at the Olympics.

“When we found out that we were going to have an opportunity to go to this, the more we thought about it, we were like, ‘Let’s take advantage of it now that we can actually do it,' " he said.

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“We love sports, we love competition, we love world events. This is such a unique place where the entire world gets to come together and bond over competition and sports,” he continued.

source: people.com