In sports, like in politics, people have their favorite teams. In sports, like in politics, people will apply double standards and embrace hypocrisies, all in the name of circling the wagons around their biases and rooting interests.
That’s absolutely happening in the Rashee Rice case.
Fans of the Chiefs are quick to attack the notion that Rice and the Chiefs have received favorable treatment from the league office via the delayed resolution of his Personal Conduct Policy case. And those same people would be saying something very different if Rice played for another team.
But here’s the basic reality. Rice engaged in a dangerous street race in late March of 2024. The incident was captured on video. In the months since then, the handling of Rice has seemed odd, to say the least.
Various media members have asked, for months, why the league hadn’t done anything. The reason is clear. The NFL’s standard practice is to wait for the resolution of the underlying criminal case before imposing discipline under the Personal Conduct Policy.
Here, Rice was charged with eight felonies. He was not placed on paid leave. That part is easily explained, too; the NFL, despite having the express ability to place a player charged with only one felony on paid leave, typically uses this P.R. tool only when the charge relates to domestic violence.
The situation changed after Rice pleaded guilty to two felonies, resulting in 30 days of jail time (which can be served at any point over the next five years) and five years of probation. The guilty plea was entered on July 17. The next step was to evaluate his case for discipline under the Personal Conduct Policy.
At least one reporter employed by the media outlet of which the NFL will eventually acquire a 10-percent stake has suggested there’s nothing to see here. The league and Rice’s representatives tried to work out an agreed suspension. After they reached an impasse, it was time to schedule a hearing. The disciplinary officer under the Personal Conduct Policy, retired judge Sue L. Robinson, wasn’t available until September 30.
As a result, Rice will be eligible to play until the hearing is held, the punishment is decided, and any appeal (by the NFL and/or by Rice) to the Commissioner or his designee is resolved.
And what of the apples-to-apples comparison to Vikings receiver Jordan Addison, who pleaded guilty on the same day to a misdemeanor with no jail time? He has already been suspended for the first three games of the regular season.
Obviously, his suspension arose under a different policy. He didn’t fight it. It was automatic: Three games for a guilty plea in any case that involves a DUI charge. The procedure under the Personal Conduct Policy takes more time to unfold, especially when the proposed punishment is contested by the player, his representation, and the NFL Players Association.
But there was no reason to delay the process. Although I do not (and never will) believe that the league consciously rigs games for the Chiefs, it’s impossible to rule out a partial erosion of the supposed firewall between the “integrity of the game” and the NFL’s business objectives. The Chiefs quite possibly get more “jump balls” than other teams, either through the exercise of in-game discretion by officials who are aware of the ratings muscle of the Chiefs or, in this case, from the urgency (or lack thereof) displayed by the bureaucrats responsible for the implementation of the league’s in-house justice system.
Just as the league’s standard practice is to delay imposing discipline until the criminal charges have been resolved, the league has a standard practice of finalizing potential suspensions before the start of a given season. As to Rice, the NFL has deviated from that standard practice.
Other teams are looking at the handling of Rice and wondering why the deviation has happened. Why wasn’t the league ready to mobilize immediately upon Rice pleading guilty to multiple felonies? Why didn’t the league insist on the scheduling of a hearing in, for example, early August, so that the case would have been resolved before Week 1?
The league has a well-earned reputation, in matters of player discipline, of getting what it wants, when it wants it. In this case, the league undoubtedly didn’t say, “Let’s slow this down so that Rice is available to the Chiefs for an early-season slate that features six straight games on big platforms.” But the popularity of the Chiefs combined with their presence on YouTube in Week 1, the Fox national 4:25 p.m. ET game in Week 2, NBC in Week 3, the CBS national 4:25 p.m. ET game in Week 4, ABC/ESPN in Week 5, and NBC in Week 6 may have influenced, consciously or not, the failure to insist on the standard practice of finalizing all pending suspensions before the regular-season starts.
That easily could have happened. This case doesn’t require a detailed presentation of evidence. Play the video of the street race and the ensuing crash. Introduce medical records regarding the injuries suffered by the people in other cars. Determine an appropriate punishment. Appeal the decision.
It could have been done by Week 1, if it had been prioritized by those responsible for doing so. It wasn’t.
And that’s the problem. At a time when the tinfoil-hat crowd is looking for evidence to legitimize the misguided conspiracy theories, the NFL tossed a raw steak into the cage.
If anything, the unfounded perception that the league deliberately favors the Chiefs should have compelled the league to ensure that Rice’s case was resolved ASAFP.
And it doesn’t matter, as some have suggested, whether the Chiefs would prefer to have Rice for those early-season games, or whether they’d like to have him serve his suspension and return without the reality of a future absence hanging over the team. The league knows the schedule. Six games, on major platforms. The Chiefs will be at full strength for at least four, if not five. (And, if there’s an appeal, definitely all six.)
That’s the heart of the concern. By not insisting that a clear, undeniable violation of the Personal Conduct Policy that happened in plain sight nearly 17 months ago resulted in a suspension commencing as of Week 1, the league has allowed skeptics (including people employed by other teams) to wonder why the league has departed from its standard practice.
Standard practice. It was followed regarding the decision not to punish Rice until he entered a guilty plea. It was followed regarding the decision not to put him on paid leave. It was not followed regarding the decision to let the disciplinary case linger into the regular season.
The overriding point is this. The league ordinarily gets these cases resolved before the season starts. By not doing it as to Rice, the league has given people a reason to say, “That’s peculiar.”
Look at it this way. If the league had announced Rice’s suspension on Thursday, no one could have raised a credible question about it. It’s standard practice to resolve these suspensions before Week 1. The fact that the incident happened nearly a year and a half ago would have made it even more appropriate for the situation to be resolved before the Chiefs face the Chargers three weeks from tonight in Brazil.
The fact that it wasn’t is odd, because it represents a deviation from standard practice. Which necessarily creates bad optics for the league.
On July 17, Vikings receiver Jordan Addison resolved a DUI citation by pleading guilty to a lesser misdemeanor charge, with no jail time. He’ll miss the first three games of the regular season.
On July 17, Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice pleaded guilty to a pair of felonies arising from a street racing crash that was caught on video, and that caused multiple injuries. He’ll serve 30 days and spend five years on probation. And he’ll be on the field for at least the first four games of the season, because his disciplinary hearing won’t happen until September 30.
It makes no sense. And it’s making some wonder whether someone wants Rice to be available for a quartet of high-profile Kansas City games to start the season. From Week 1 against the Chargers in Brazil on YouTube to Week 2 against the Eagles at 4:25 p.m. ET on Fox to Week 3 against the Giants on NBC’s Sunday Night Football to Week 4 against the Ravens at 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS, Rice is now good to go.
Given that his hearing will happen on Tuesday, September 30, he’ll most likely be available for Week 5, a Monday night visit to Jacksonville on ESPN and ABC.
As one league source observed, it usually doesn’t work this way. With the player pleading guilty in the offseason, there’s usually an urgency to finalize his discipline and have it begin before Week 1.
“Maybe I’m a conspiracy theorist,” the source said, “but this is odd.”
Added the source, “You hardly ever see players get suspended in season unless they did something in season like a drug test or something.”
Here, there’s no dispute. Rice pleaded guilty. The question is only the extent of the punishment. Why didn’t the league expedite the case?
If all else fails, put him on paid leave until the case is resolved, and give him credit for the games he misses after the final punishment is issued.
At a time when many think the league favors the Chiefs, situations like this will not become evidence to the contrary. If anything, it looks like the dominos have fallen in a way to ensure that Rice will be available for four, and likely five, high-profile games to be played on YouTube, CBS, NBC, Fox, and ESPN/ABC.
When Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice has his disciplinary hearing on September 30, it will indeed happen before Judge Sue L. Robinson.
The retired judge, who handled the Deshaun Watson case three years ago, serves as the disciplinary officer under the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy. The Rice case will be her second hearing under the revisions to the procedure that resulted from the 2020 Collective Bargaining Agreement.
She’ll hear the evidence (there aren’t many disputed facts, unless a fight emerges as to the extent of injuries caused by Rice’s admittedly reckless driving). She’ll be making findings as to what happened. She’ll affix a punishment.
Then, either the NFL or Rice may appeal the decision to the Commissioner or his designee.
There had been a belief that the case would go straight to Goodell, since there’s no need for Judge Robinson to determine what did and didn’t occur. It’s all on video. Still, the Personal Conduct Policy sets forth a clear process. She handles it first, and the appeal happens after that.
The policy contains no specific dates or deadlines. Instead, it requires that Judge Robinson’s decision be issued “promptly.” Any appeal must be processed on an “expedited basis.”
However long (or short) the decision-making process may be, September 30 is the day the hearing will commence. Judge Robinson will preside. And Rice will be available to play until any discipline is finalized — by Robinson and then, if an appeal is filed, by the Commissioner or his designee.
Yes, Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice will be available to start the 2025 season.
Via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com/The NFL*, Rice’s disciplinary hearing is expected to be held on September 30. This means he’ll be eligible to play until a ruling is issued — and his appeal rights have been exhausted.
The report doesn’t mention whether the hearing will unfold before retired judge Sue L. Robinson or Commissioner Roger Goodell. There has been talk that proceedings before Judge Robinson may not be required, since no facts are in dispute.
Either way, the fact that a hearing has been scheduled means that the league and Rice (and the NFL Players Association) have not reached an agreement on a suspension following Rice’s guilty plea to multiple felonies as a result of a street-racing incident in Dallas.
An agreement as to a punishment under the Personal Conduct Policy can be reached at any time. If it doesn’t happen, the hearing will transpire. Depending on the time necessary for a final decision and any appeal, Rice could be available for roughly half of the season, before a suspension would commence.
There’s a strategic component at play for the Chiefs and Rice. The goal will be to have him back and ready to go as the postseason approaches. If the process takes too long to be resolved, he could end up being reinstated at a time when it will be less than ideal for the team’s playoff chances.
The biggest question is the duration of the suspension. Some have suggested that precedent supports a short suspension. However, those cases weren’t caught on video.
Does video matter? Ray Rice went from being suspended for knocking Janay Palmer unconscious without video, to never playing again once the video was released.
The Chiefs are breaking camp on Wednesday at Missouri Western State and head coach Andy Reid shared some plans for preseason playing time on Friday in Seattle.
Via multiple reporters, Reid said in his press conference that there’s a “good chance” quarterback Patrick Mahomes will not play in the game. Other starters are likely to rest as well.
This is a bit of a change for Reid, who usually gives starters plenty of playing time in the team’s penultimate preseason game.
Mahomes was on the field for just three snaps in last week’s preseason opener, tossing a 1-yard touchdown pass to receiver Jason Brownlee.
For his part, Mahomes noted that he has no problem playing in the final exhibition contest against the Bears in the final preseason contest.
“I always want to play and be out there,” Mahomes said, via Nate Taylor of ESPN. “I trust in coach Reid and his process fully.”
