The NFL fined Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon for comments he never made about referees during the team’s controversial playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last Saturday.
After Mixon and his agent appealed the fine and publicly pointed out that Mixon did not make those comments, the NFL re-issued the fine with comments he did make.
The original fine claimed Mixon said, “Why play the game if every 50/50 call goes with Chiefs. These officials are trash and bias.”
That statement did not come from Mixon. Former NFL wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh wrote it in a social media post.
Mixon then went on a social media tirade denying that he made the statement and expressing outrage over the league’s fine.
The NFL later re-issued the fine with his actual words in its place, which reads “Everybody knows how it is playing up here. You can never leave it in the refs’ hands. The whole world see, man,” according to NBC Sports.
League rules prohibit public criticism of officiating “because it calls into question the integrity of, and public confidence in, our game.”
Officials came under widespread criticism by Texans players and head coach DeMeco Ryans, as well as many media pundits and fans on social media over two questionably roughing the passer penalties that were called against the Texans for hits on Patrick Mahomes last Saturday.
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The first penalty came when Houston edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. was called for roughing the passer on a third down in the first quarter. Anderson appeared to push Mahomes in the chest after he had thrown an incomplete pass to tight end Travis Kelce. Anderson was flagged.
The second penalty came during a Mahomes scramble in the third quarter. He had two blockers on a run and three defenders bearing down on him. He moved to his right and then back to his left when he decided to slide.
Head referee Clay Martin explained the calls to a pool reporter after the game, saying one of the controversial calls was a result of “forcible contact to the face mask area,” which warranted a flag. He said there was forcible contact to Mahomes’ “hairline” on another unnecessary roughness call.
Mahomes himself has defended the referees for the calls when he was asked by reporters Wednesday if he believed referees were giving him preferential treatment.
“I don’t feel that way,” Mahomes answered. “At the end of the day, the referees are doing their best to call the game as fair and as proper as they possibly can. And all you can do is go out there and play the game that you love as hard as you can and live with the results. … I think that’s what we preach here in Kansas City.
“You get new referees every year, you get new circumstances, and you never can really tell because every play’s different. And that’s what makes the NFL so special. I feel like I’ve just continued to play the game, and I just try to win. And whatever happens kind of happens.”
Meanwhile, Kelce refused to speak on the issue when he was asked about it by his brother, Jason Kelce, during their podcast “New Heights” on Wednesday.
“I’d like to plead the Fifth,” the tight end said, jokingly referring to his constitutional right to remain silent.
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