Kansas City Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice is back in the news cycle again for all the wrong reasons, as he faces allegations of domestic abuse from a former girlfriend, Decoda Nichole Jones.
Jones posted photos on her Instagram account Wednesday afternoon that showed bruises and wounds on multiple parts of her body, alleging abuse for numerous years in a story by Nate Taylor of ESPN. Jones and Rice have two children together, and while she doesn’t name Rice specifically as her abuser, she does say that that person is the father of her children.
No police reports have been filed in either Overland Park, Kansas, or in Dallas, the two places she mentioned in her post as locations where the abuse occurred.
The Chiefs issued a statement after the allegations surfaced:
"The club is aware of the allegations on social media and is in communication with the National Football League," the Chiefs said in a statement. "We have no further comment at this time."
If police reports are filed, Rice will almost certainly face additional scrutiny from the league, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Rice served a six-game suspension under the Personal Conduct Policy in 2025 for a street-racing incident in 2024 would potentially lead to enhanced penalties. If the league does determine that Rice committed domestic violence, the policy calls for a baseline suspension of six games, Florio added.
The street racing incident occurred last July, and which In July, Rice was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years' probation for his role in a multicar crash in Dallas that left multiple people injured during the 2024 offseason, according to Taylor.
Rice pled guilty to two third-degree felony charges -- collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury. He received deferred adjudication, and the case will be dismissed if he completes probation.
Rice and four friends fled the scene on foot before police arrived, Taylor noted, and the incident was captured on video. Rice apologized to “everyone impacted,” and he’s been making medical payments to those who were injured after reports surfaced that he’d failed to meet several payments.
The two incidents bookend an erratic season for Rice, who rejuvenated the Chiefs receiver room when he first returned to the field. But Rice struggled later in the year with key drops, and an overhaul of the Chiefs’ coaching structure for receivers is one of several possible moves that could occur this offseason. Rice is currently eligible for a second contract, but this incident could at least temporarily decrease the likelihood that that will happen any time soon.