Rashee Rice, Stepping In One Steaming Pile Of Trouble After Another, Should Seriously Just Stay Home

My question to Rashee Rice would be a simple one: What are you thinking, my guy?

Because whatever that is that's popping into your head is causing you to do all these unwise things and putting you into these awful situations that hurt other people as well as yourself.

Rice is the Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver who started this NFL offseason floating on a proverbial Cloud Nine. 

He just finished an outstanding rookie year with the Kansas City Chiefs as the top target for quarterback Patrick Mahomes not named Travis Kelce. 

Rice caught 79 passes for 938 yards and seven TDs in 2023, and everything was looking up because it's hard to have a better rookie season than that unless your team wins the Super Bowl.

And the Chiefs did that, too. 

Feb 11, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; San Francisco 49ers safety Logan Ryan (33) tackles Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice (4) during the second quarter of Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Rashee Rice's Nightmare Offseason

So Rice is getting a Super Bowl ring after his rookie NFL season to cap off a grand entrance into the league. Nobody had it better than Rice in early February.

Then the 23-year-old started acting like he's got a 12-year-old's brain. He started doing foolish things. Dangerous things. And, yes, possibly illegal things.

And now, three months later, Rice's future and career are uncertain.

The latest trouble came Tuesday when Dallas law enforcement began an investigation into an incident in which Rice allegedly struck a photographer at a high-end nightclub, according to Dallas TV station WFAA. 

The incident happened early Monday at the Lit Kitchen & Lounge in downtown Dallas, where Rice apparently partied Sunday night and into Monday's early morning hours. 

Dallas police have reportedly been interviewing witnesses to get as full an account of the incident as possible before taking next steps.

Jan 13, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice (4) runs the ball against the Miami Dolphins during the second half of the 2024 AFC wild card game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

What Is Rashee Rice Thinking?

And my question to Rice is why were you even there to begin with? Again, what are you thinking?

Never mind that nothing good happens in a bar or club after midnight, something Hall of Fame coach Bill Parcells used to tell his players all the time.

It's just that Rice is already in enough trouble and doesn't need even one situation more to go sideways and complicate matters.

Rice, you see, is free now on $40,000 bond after he was arrested on eight counts connected to a hit-and-run accident he was involved in on March 30. That crash, a six-vehicle pileup, happened when Rice and some of his friends were allegedly racing along a Dallas highway.

The rented Lamborghini Rice was driving was allegedly traveling at 119 MPH.

Rice has already said in a statement he plans to take responsibility and will make everyone involved whole, but that hasn't stopped two victims from filing a civil suit against Rice and former SMU cornerback Teddy Knox, who also was allegedly speeding in Rice’s Corvette.

Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice was driving nearly 120 miles per hour seconds before a crash last month in Dallas, according to his arrest affidavit.

Rice May Face More Driving Charges

Rice is facing six counts of collision involving bodily injury, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury and one count of aggravated assault in connection with this wreck.

If convicted of all these charges, Rice faces a combined sentence of up to 60 years in jail.

But it doesn't stop there.

After the accident, Rice and his friends decided to leave the scene. There is actual video of them simply walking away. Yes, the bad decisions are coming in droves.

Law enforcement is still weighing whether to add charges for that offense.

So, amid that accident, the NFL and Kansas City Chiefs are weighing the matter.

The NFL's official stance is it is monitoring the first incident as it moves through the legal system. Rice is subject to suspension under the collectively bargained Personal Conduct Policy.

He is probably already in violation of the policy because this has brought negative publicity to himself, his team and the NFL – a no-no within the policy.

Jan 28, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) passes the ball to Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice (4) against the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Championship football game at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Charges May Lead To Revocation Of Bond

The NFL is not commenting on the latest incident with the photographer.

The Chiefs, meanwhile, are hopeful Rice can emerge from the problems he's created and help the team. But everyone saw them select speedy Texas receiver Xavier Worthy in the first round of the draft last month.

The team has not yet announced a decision on whether to let Rice attend Phase III of its offseason conditioning program or the veteran minicamp that follows.

So, facing a six-course meal of trouble, why would Rice put himself in a position to add a terrible dessert?

Doesn't he understand that his mere presence at a ritzy nightclub the first week of May isn't going to play well in civil court when it's juxtaposed with the lives of his victims as they try to recover from their injuries?

Doesn't he realize that any incident in which he becomes entangled – such as, say, hitting someone in a bar – puts him at risk of jail time for failing to comply with the conditions of his bond?

Rashee Rice probably got an idea to go out Sunday night and have a nice time. Harmless enough. But he should have considered that idea and immediately dismissed it out of hand.

Am I suggesting the guy should become a hermit until all his legal problems are resolved? Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. 

Stay home, man. Avoid trouble at all costs. Because your career and, indeed, your future were at stake even before this latest mess. 

Yes, staying home and out of sight for a few months might seem rough or boring or unfair. It's almost like a self-imposed house arrest.

But it's better that self-imposition than risking another situation that goes sideways and permanently hurts you or someone else.