The NFL still plans to fine Houston Texans Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon for his comments following Saturday’s 24-13 loss in the divisional round against the Kansas City Chiefs.
This time, the league office is actually going to fine him for his comments and not that of former Cincinnati Bengals receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
Following the loss, Mixon mentioned the officiating in the locker room after the loss and how two plays against Patrick Mahomes factored into the outcome.
Joe Mixon says he was fined for saying, “Why play the game if every 50/50 call goes with Chiefs. These officials are trash and bias.”
I stood next to Joe Mixon for the entirety of his 7:16 postgame availability. Mixon does NOT say the above quote.
In the interest of truth and… pic.twitter.com/PzG7njQO6v
— Will Kunkel (@WillKunkelFOX) January 22, 2025
“Everybody knows how it is playing up here,” Mixon said. “You can never leave it into the refs’ hands. The whole world sees what it is, bro, but it is what it is.”
The NFL fined the Texans’ top rusher $25,000 for tweeting postgame, “Why play the game if every 50/50 call goes with Chiefs? These officials are trash and bias.”
Why play the game if every 50/50 call goes with Chiefs. These officials are 🗑🗑🗑🗑 & bias
— T.J. Houshmandzadeh (@housh84) January 18, 2025
Here’s the problem: Mixon never tweeted that. Houshmandzadeh had tweeted it during the game while Mixon and Houston were trying to mount a comeback.
After Mixon called out the league for the wrongful error, the league reissued the $25,000 fine for his actual comments made in the locker room. Right after the fine was released, Mixon hopped back on X, formerly known as Twitter, calling it a “cold world.”
So let me get this straight NFL fines me 25k for something I didn’t even say. Call them out for it, and they response was fine me AGAIN for something that’s not even a violation without even rescinding the first one. Where’s the accountability? Just respect the players.
Cold 🌎
— ⚡️Primetime!!!⚡️ (@Joe_MainMixon) January 22, 2025
“So, let me get this straight. NFL fines me 25k for something I didn’t even say. Call them out for it, and (their) response was fine me AGAIN for something that’s not even a violation without even rescinding the first one,” Mixon tweeted. “Where’s the accountability? Just respect the players.”
Peter Schaffer, Mixon’s agent, told ESPN they were already planning to appeal the fine and will still appeal it under the new issue.
“We will defend Joe and have appealed the fine and will explore all other legal avenues to rectify this situation,” Schaffer said. “This has to stop.”
