Jason Kelce and trainer Joe O’Pella teamed up one last time ahead of his retirement

 

NFL fans have spotted a touching tribute made by Jason Kelce during his retirement speech.

The longtime Philadelphia Eagles center, 36, announced his retirement from the NFL on Monday, in a moving 40-minute-long speech from the team’s facility.


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Jason Kelce announced on Monday he was retiring from the NFL after 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. Credit: AP


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He arrived at his press conference in a sleeveless shirt, black pants, and with his ankles taped up. Credit: AP


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Eagles’ associate athletic trainer Joe O’Pella had taped up Jason’s ankles throughout his career – barring this past season as he battled cancer. Credit: Instagram/ trainerjoeo
The six-time First-Team All-Pro delivered his speech in short sleeves, black pants, and sandals without socks.

“Suit and tie is what most people wear, and I’m like, that wouldn’t feel right,” Jason told his brother, and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis on their New Heights podcast.

“I’ll wear a suit and tie when I have to, and that’s about it.

“And I’m walking through and I’m like, ‘Okay, do I wear a Cleveland Heights shirt, do I wear an Eagles shirt.’

“I opened one of the drawers and this is the shirt that has holes in it and I’ve worn and practiced [in] and every year I’ve lifted weights in it.

“And I’m like, ‘You know what, this shirt in some ways, was a part of this journey with me more than anything else in this closet so I’ll wear this.'”

And as it turns out, there was an extremely important, and as one tweet described it, a “Heartwarming” reason for Jason’s decision to go sockless.

Jason revealed that Eagles’ associate athletic trainer Joe O’Pella, “Has been battling cancer all season long, and he’s been there my entire career too.”

He explained how O’Pella taped his ankles for the press conference, having not been able to do so all season, as he had done throughout the rest of his career.

In a moving post on Instagram O’Pella also weighed in on the decision.
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“When he told me he would be retiring and I expressed my regret of not being the last person to ever tape him, and he offered to have me tape him for his retirement press conference,” he wrote, adding, “That’s who he is.”

O’Pella also gave further insight into his relationship with Jason, which goes back to day one.

He described what Jason has meant to him and his family throughout as “Nearly indescribable.”

“From being his Wing Bowl ‘cornerman’, to hour long rehab sessions followed by nights out on the town, to sleeping on each other’s couches to being at each other’s weddings, to Sea Isle City Polar Bear Plunges to Super Bowl appearances and a ring, we were there doing it together.

“And in what would be his final season, when I was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo radiation and chemo, he offered his shore house if I needed to get away, and offered to pay for meal services to help my wife and I out, and he called me randomly when I had been home, too sick to come in bc of chemo, just to check on me and chat about random things.

“That’s who he is as a person.”

Thankfully, according to Jason, O’Pella is in remission.

“They’re still gonna, I think do an operation to really make sure but he’s looking good,” he told Travis.


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‘I expressed my regret of not being the last person to ever tape him, and he offered to have me tape him for his retirement press conference,’ O’Pella wrote on Instagram. Credit: Getty