BroBible
On Wednesday, the NFL informed Texans RB Joe Mixon he’d been hit with a $25,000 fine for criticizing the officiating in the wake of Houston’s loss to the Chiefs. There’s only one problem: he wasn’t actually the person responsible for the offending quote in question.
At this point, most NFL fans who tune into a game featuring the Chiefs do so knowing it will likely only be a matter of time until the team benefits from a questionable call that ends up going their way during a key moment in the contest due to the widespread perception Kansas City has become a disproportionate beneficiary of controversial penalties.
It might sound like the latest in a long line of NFL conspiracy theories, but there are stats that lend some credence to that belief even though there’s also evidence that suggests otherwise. With that said, anyone who was already convinced that was the case likely had that stance cemented after Patrick Mahomes drew a couple of incredibly suspect roughing calls during his team’s 23-14 win over the Texans in the AFC Divisional round.
After the game, Joe Mixon heavily implied he thought the officials were biased in Kansas City’s favor, saying, “Everybody knows how it is playing up here. You can never leave it into the refs’ hands. The whole world sees what it is.”
That was probably enough for the NFL to justify hitting Mixon with a fine for publically criticizing the zebras, and on Wednesday, the running back received a letter where he was informed he’d have to fork over $25,000 for a comment he made. However, things took an interesting turn after he discovered he was being punished for a quote that can actually be attributed to a retired wide receiver.
As Pro Football Talk notes, the letter Mixon received from the league said he’d crossed the line by stating “Why play the game if every 50/50 call goes with Chiefs. These officials are trash and bias”—the message former Bengals WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh tweeted out after the game.
It would appear the confusion stemmed from a Sports Illustrated article that listed the two aforementioned quotes in quick succession, although anyone with basic reading comprehension skills would be able to determine Mixon was only responsible for the first one.
The RB was understandably incredulous after learning about that development and made a joke referencing Connor McDavid’s recent three-game suspension for cross-checking while responding to the news.
I’m getting fined by the @nfl for what someone else said. What’s next? I get fined by them for Connor McDavid cross checking an opponent on a @nhl game!
— Primetime!!! (@Joe_MainMixon) January 22, 2025
Mixon’s agent told PFT he plans to appeal the fine, and while the NFL hasn’t addressed the issue as of this writing, it seems safe to assume it’s only a matter of time until they reverse course.
The post Joe Mixon Was Rightfully Baffled After The NFL Fined Him $25K For A Quote He Didn’t Say...
