NFL reissues fine to Joe Mixon after incorrectly attributing comments to him, agent says

The NFL fined Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon $25,000 for comments he failed to make about officiating during the Texans’ divisional-round loss to the NFL Chiefs. Kansas City, Mixon’s agent said Wednesday evening. Then, according to Mixon and his agent Peter Schaffer, the league re-fined Mixon later that day for his postgame comments after he pointed out the original error.

Mixon posted about the situation on X Wednesday afternoon, saying he was “being fined by the (NFL) for what someone else said.”

Hours later, he posted on the platform again, sharing a new development: “So let me get this straight, the NFL is fining me $25,000 for something I didn’t even say. Call them out on it, and (their) response was AGAIN fine me for something that isn’t even a violation without even overturning the first one. Where is the responsibility? Just respect the players.

Mixon was asked in the locker room about the officiating after Saturday’s game, in which the referees made several controversial calls against the Texans’ defense for hits on Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

“Everybody knows how it goes here,” Mixon told reporters after the game. “You can never leave that in the hands of the referees. The whole world sees, man, what it is, bro. But that’s how it is.

According to Schaffer, the NFL said Mixon was fined for “critical remarks to the media” in which he “questioned the integrity” of officials, but Schaffer said the league initially referred to a citation that Mixon had not made, citing a comment that instead came from TJ Houshmandzadeh. The former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver wrote on social media Saturday: “Why play the game if every 50/50 call goes with the Chiefs. These officials are (trash) and partisan.

Schaffer said the league initially attributed that comment to Mixon in issuing his fine. Later, after Mixon pointed out the error on social media, Schaffer said he received another message from the league with the same fine but citing a different quote — Mixon’s comment about leaving it “in the hands referees”.

Schaffer said he was operating as if the league expected Mixon to pay two separate $25,000 fines and that he appealed both. The league did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the situation.

“They did not say in this (second) letter that we are hereby rescinding the original letter. They just said, here’s another letter. So we now have two letters, two fines, for two different quotes. The one he didn’t say. He does not publicly criticize the refereeing (by) the match officials. He criticizes his own players,” Schaffer said.

Schaffer added that he would “fight him” and “take him to the mat” if necessary.

“I will defend Joe’s rights and then we will pursue all legal remedies,” Schaffer said, although he was unsure of the next steps in the process if the fines were upheld, calling it a “new development.” »

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(Photo: David Eulitt/Getty Images)