Total Pro Sports
The NFL had to make some tough decisions regarding Houston Texans minority owner Javier Loya. The League banned him and also imposed a $500,000 fine after finding he violated the league’s personal conduct policy. The decision comes two years after prosecutors accused Loya of rape and sexual assault in Kentucky.
The league announced the punishment despite the criminal case ending without a conviction. The NFL policy allows discipline based on its own findings, not court outcomes. NBC Sports first reported the ban and fine.
Loya, a longtime Texans stakeholder, has stayed away from team and league activities since authorities filed charges in 2023. The Texans said he has played no role with the club since that time.
Prosecutors in Kentucky charged Javier Loya in 2023 with rape and multiple sexual abuse counts. In 2024, he entered an Alford plea, which means he maintained his innocence while accepting a lesser misdemeanor charge of harassment. After that, prosecutors dropped the rape and sexual abuse charges.
Even so, the NFL completed its own investigation and decided to punish Loya under its personal conduct policy. The league does not need a criminal conviction to take action.
Loya responded in a statement to the Houston Chronicle. “I respectfully disagree with the NFL’s decision,” Loya said. He said he “cooperated fully with the league from the moment this matter arose.”
He pointed to the outcome of the legal case***. “All charges against me were dismissed over a year ago, and I have remained transparent, respectful, and forthcoming throughout the process,”*** Loya said. He also noted that he stepped away from team and league activities for more than two and a half years.
The NFL will allow Loya to apply for reinstatement in June 2026. Until then, he remains banned.
The Texans supported the NFL’s decision and made their view clear. “This behavior has no place in our organization or our community,” the team said in a statement to the Chronicle. The team confirmed that Loya remains banned from all team and league activities. Just months earlier, Robert Cary McNair Jr., the brother of owner Cal McNair, filed a $100 million lawsuit against the NFL.
Loya co-founded OTC Global Holdings and has owned a small Texans stake since 2002. His share is less than one percent. He is married to Lucinda Vincent-Loya, a Houston-based interior designer, and they have two daughters.
