Jason Kelce will go down as a legend for the Philadelphia Eagles for everything he did on the field during his lengthy NFL career. But for one Philadelphia Eagles trainer, he’ll be remembered for who he is off the field.
Eagles trainer Joe O’Pella was recently diagnosed with cancer, and he opened up about the heartwarming gestures from Jason Kelce after his diagnosis.
“You all know about the on-field accomplishments, and many of the off-field ones, too, but what this man has meant to me and now my family over the past decade plus is nearly indescribable,” O’Pella wrote. “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 me out, and he called me randomly when I had been home, too sick to come in because of chemo, just to check on me and chat about random things. That’s who he is as a person.”
O’Pella also revealed that he missed the chance to tape Kelce’s ankles one last time before his last game, so Kelce made a pretty significant gesture to make sure he was the last person ever to tape his ankles.
“I taped this guy’s ankles and thumbs everyday for 13 seasons, and when he played his last game in Tampa, again I couldn’t be there due to cancer. And when he told me he would be retiring and I expressed my regret of not being the last person to ever tape him, he offered to have me tape him for his retirement press conference,” O’Pella continued. “That’s who he is. And I hope theses stories can add to an already unbelievable legacy.”
Kelce had a legendary career, but it’s pretty clear that he is also a legendary person.
