After a series of twists and turns, running back Joe Mixon will not be fined $25,000 for criticizing officials following the Houston Texans’ postseason loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. According to Pro Football Talk, Mixon has won his appeal.
This somewhat confusing saga began last month, when the NFL reportedly fined Mixon for words that were actually posted on social media by former NFL wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Those words were included in an SI.com article titled: “Look: Joe Mixon calls out officials after Chiefs’ win over Texans,” although they were correctly attributed to Houshmandzadeh:
Mixon even took to social media to voice his frustration about the NFL’s mistake, saying the league was “wild” for fining him for something he never said:
The NFL then reportedly changed the fine, pointing to words Mixon did actually say in the locker room following the divisional round. Whether those words were inflammatory enough to draw a fine was immediately questioned.
“Everybody knows how it is playing up here,” Mixon said. “You can never leave it in the refs’ hands. The whole world see, man.”
Ultimately, hearing officer Chris Palmer overturned the $25,000 fine, explaining why in a one-page decision obtained by Pro Football Talk:
“During the appeal hearing, you stated what you meant by your statements referring to the officials,” Palmer wrote. “As you know, statements can be interpreted differently by every individual and it seems like you clearly understand the weight and detriment of public criticism towards officials can be, given how impactful your platform is as a player, which I appreciate.
“Integrity of the game and its officials is the responsibility of everyone involved in the NFL. After reviewing the totality of the evidence. I find that you did not necessarily publicly criticize the officials. Accordingly for the reasons set forth above, the NFL will rescind the $25,000 fine amount.”
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