NFL finally backs down after fining Joe Mixon for comment he didn’t make

If you’ll recall, back when the Houston Texans played the Kansas City Chiefs this postseason, and the conspiracy theories that the NFL referees favor the Chiefs were still ripe, Texans running back Joe Mixon was slapped with a fine for a comment he didn’t actually make.

NFL’s bizarre mix-up with Mixon

During the Texans' 23-14 loss to the Chiefs, there were several controversial calls that went in favor of Kansas City. Many fans and analysts questioned the calls, and when Mixon was asked about it after the game, this was his response:

“Everybody knows how it is playing up here. You can never leave it into the refs’ hands,” he said. “The whole world sees, man, what it is. When it comes down to it, you can never leave it into the refs’ hands.

Shortly after the game, the NFL fined Mixon $25,000 for a comment he didn’t actually make. They mistakenly referenced a comment made by Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh, who wrote on X, “Why play the game if every 50/50 call goes with Chiefs. These officials are (trash) & (biased)” and attributed it to Mixon.

Later, the NFL took back that fine, but instead fined him for his post-game comments that he actually made. Mixon posted a frustrated response to X:

Now, however, Mixon has appealed the fine and the NFL reversed the decision, stating that Mixon “did not necessarily publicly criticize the officials".

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“During the appeal hearing, you stated what you meant by your statements referring to the officials,” appeals officer Chris Palmer wrote in a letter. “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.”

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