Kate Emery: Travis Kelce’s display of toxic masculinity poured cold water on Taylor Swift romance

It had all the hallmarks of a storybook romance: a sports star on the field, his superstar girlfriend in the stands to watch the biggest game of them all. . . and then the bloke at the centre of it made a play straight out of the toxic masculinity handbook and started screaming in the face of his coach.

For a moment Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce stopped being the hero in Taylor Swift’s very public love story, replaced by the cliché of a rage-filled alpha jock as he bodychecked and verbally abused 65-year-old coach Andy Reid on the sidelines on the Super Bowl.

The only thing redder than Kelce’s face was the flag this public display of rage should have sent to Swift — and any impressionable young people invested in the power couple’s high-profile romance.

Kelce’s anger was seemingly fuelled by… look, who really cares because there’s no justification for entirely losing your cool when the entire world, not just your billionaire girlfriend, is watching.

It’s not the first time fans have seen a glimpse of Kelce’s apparent anger issues — he was reprimanded for throwing his helmet in anger after a lost game last year — but it is the most shocking.

When someone flies into a rage in public — and it doesn’t get much more public than the Super Bowl — it’s easy to wonder what they’re like behind closed doors.

Sport can bring out the best and worst in people. Emotions run high, adrenalin surges and keeping the aggression that’s so needed on the field from leaching off the field can be easier said than done.

But what was doubly disappointing is the way in which the blow-up was normalised, even turned into a joke, by both Reid and Kelce after the game, which the Chiefs won in overtime.

Rather than apologise and use the incident to address his issues, Kelce only joked of the outburst: “I was just telling him (Reid) how much I love him”.

He then laid on the praise with all the warmth of an abusive husband apologising to his wife after the fact: “I’ve got the greatest coach this game has ever seen. He’s one of the best leaders of men I’ve ever seen in my life. I owe my entire career to that guy and how to control my emotions.”

Reid, who was probably fairly keen to distance himself from the idea that he should take responsibility for Kelce’s (in)ability to control his emotions, described Kelce as “emotional today”.

“I’ve got five kids, and I know how that goes,” he said. “The part that I love is that he loves to play the game, and he wants to help his team win.”

Public reaction to Kelce’s outburst has ranged from outrage to an indulgent shrug.

What Swift thought of it all we might never know (at least not until she writes a song about it on her next album).

But, for some watching on, this will be the moment that the man who was supposed to be Swift’s romantic hero entered his villain era.