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DJ Beloved
Houston running back Joe Mixon was fined another $25,000 by the NFL on Wednesday, in this case for his comments about officiating during the Kansas City Chiefs’ divisional game and the Texans.
Mixon was initially fined for something he didn’t say about officiating, according to him and his agent. In a postgame interview, Mixon was asked about the officials after the Texans defense was flagged for two separate penalties for contacting Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The two penalties extended Kansas City’s drives, leading to 10 crucial points for the Chiefs in their 23-14 victory.
“Everyone knows how it goes here. You can never leave it in the hands of the refs,” Mixon said. “The whole world sees, man, what it is. At the end of the day, you can never leave it in the hands of the referees. But it’s all good.”
Former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh posted a message agreeing with Mixon, writing: “Why play the game if every 50/50 call goes with the Chiefs. These officials are (trash) and biased.”
Sports Illustrated initially attributed Houshmandzadeh’s quote to Mixon in an article. The NFL then cited the “50/50” citation in imposing the fine on the running back, according to Mixon and his agent, Peter Schaffer. SI has since corrected its error.
Schaffer told ESPN they will appeal the fine.
“We will defend Joe and have appealed the fine and will explore all other legal avenues to remedy this situation,” Schaffer said. “This has to stop.”
But now the reasoning for the fine has changed to Mixon’s own wording after the loss. He reacted to X and called it a “cold world”.
“So let me get this straight, the NFL is fining me $25,000 for something I didn’t even say,” Mixon said. “Call them out for this, and their response was STILL fining me for something that isn’t even a violation without even overturning the first one. Where is the accountability? Just respect the players.”
