Kansas City Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice is back in the news, and once again it’s for all the wrong reasons. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, who’s a lawyer by trade, new allegations against Rice have surfaced in a lawsuit initiated this week include allegations of domestic violence that could affect Rice’s on-field availability this year.
The material, which come via Jesse Newell of The Athletic, makes for some ugly reading. The suit was filed in Dallas County District Court in Texas, where Rice and the plaintiff, Decoda Jones, lived together in Victory Park, Texas.
The specific incident occurred in 2023, and it references their relationship together, which extended to July of 2025, according to the filing. Here's an extended sample from the filing that Florio included in his piece:
“Defendant Rice has grabbed, choked, strangled, pushed, thrown, scratched, hit, and headbutted Ms. Jones, as well as hit her with inanimate objects. Additionally, he has engaged in other violent and abusive behaviors towards Ms. Jones, including throwing objects, destroying property, punching walls, and breaking furniture, as well as locking her out in the middle of the night. Many of these behaviors occurred while Ms. Jones was pregnant.”
As to the football part of this, the NFL previously started a review based on allegations from Instagram, but Florio added that the league will “undoubtedly” expand the allegation to cover the allegations in the new lawsuit.
The ramifications could also go beyond this specific incident. Rice was suspended for the first six games of the 2025 season due to his role in a street racing incident that injured multiple drivers and passengers in the other vehicles that were involved, and given his history Rice could get additional penalties if the league concludes that he violated the Personal Conduct Policy again.
The incident could also affect Rice’s probation status. His agreement with the league after the street racing incident was announced in July, and it included stipulations that if any potential abuse occurred after the five year period of probation commenced, Rice could face an argument that he violated the terms of his probation, according to Florio.
The Chiefs hasn’t commented yet, but it’s fair to wonder how far they'll back the receiver and for how long they’ll continue to tolerate these kinds of legal incidents from Rice. Kansas City went through this with former receiver Tyreek Hill back when Hill played for the Chiefs in his prime, and Hill’s history of domestic violence incidents may have played a role in his eventual trade to the Miami Dolphins. Given the situation with Rice, it seems like there’s a possibility that history could repeat itself to at least some degree.