Jason Kelce Reacts to Laila Edwards Claiming She’s the ‘Best Athlete to Come Out of Cleveland Heights’ After Winning Gold

NEED TO KNOW

• Jason Kelce gave his two cents on Laila Edwards claiming she’s the “best athlete to come out of Cleveland Heights”

• The trailblazing ice hockey player hails from the same Cleveland suburb as Jason and his brother Travis Kelce

• Edwards’ comment came shortly after she made history as the first Black woman to win Olympic gold in ice hockey for Team USA

Jason Kelce is weighing in on Laila Edwards’ new self-professed title.

The ice hockey Olympian joined Kylie Kelce on her Not Gonna Lie podcast following her historic gold-medal win with Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Thursday, Feb. 19. On the show, the 22-year-old poked fun at Kylie’s husband, former NFL star Jason Kelce who, like Edwards, hails from Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

Edwards began by introducing herself, and added a cheeky “not gonna lie” statement to be on-theme with Kylie’s podcast.

“Hi, I’m Laila Edwards — not gonna lie, I’m the best athlete to come out of Cleveland Heights,” Edwards said with a grin.

Laila Edwards.

Harry How/Getty

Faintly, from out of the camera’s view, Jason — considered one of the greats in his own sport — could be heard giving his two cents: “No objection!”

Like Edwards, Jason and his brother Travis Kelce both grew up in the Cleveland suburb, a city of approximately 45,000 people.

The three athletes’ shared roots were first celebrated in November 2023, when Edwards made history as the first Black woman on the national ice hockey team. On their shared podcast, New Heights, Travis and Jason gave Edwards a shoutout for her historic success, Edwards told PEOPLE in January.

Laila Edwards.

CARL SANDIN/BILDBYRÅN/Shutterstock

Edwards reached out to the brothers on social media to thank them for the recognition, and to her surprise, the brothers replied.

“I thought, ‘I’ll just message them, thanking them, they’ll never see it,’ ” she said. “And then Travis and I had a full conversation over DM, and that was super cool… he was a really down-to-earth, humble guy who was super supportive and had really good things to say.”

After Edwards was chosen to represent the U.S. in the Olympics, the brothers once again shared their excitement for Edwards on their podcast.

Around the same time, Edwards’ family started a GoFundMe to help cover the costs associated with the trip, like flights and hotel bills. The Kelce brothers, who have expressed feeling a kinship to Edwards over their shared hometown, personally donated so that her family could be present for Edwards’s historic Olympic debut, she told PEOPLE.

Laila Edwards.

Gregory Shamus/Getty

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“So I mean, those are just really good guys,” she said of the Kelce brothers, adding, “They’re really good people, too, outside of their athletic abilities.”

After the games had begun, Jason and wife Kylie were seen in the stands at the ice hockey semifinal game, cheering on Edwards and Team USA.

Read the original article on People