Texans running back Joe Mixon will not have to pay a $25,000 fine for something he did not say. Nor will he have to pay a fine for what he did say.
Mixon won his appeal of the fine he received in late January for comments he made about officiating after the Texans’ divisional round loss to the Chiefs – a fine that came after he was initially penalized for something he didn’t say.
A letter from NFL hearing officer Chris Palmer states, ‘After reviewing the totality of the evidence. I find that you did not necessarily publicly criticize the officials … the NFL will rescind the $25,000 fine amount.’
The Texans’ running back was initially fined in late January for social media comments from former Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh that were falsely attributed to Mixon.
‘Why play the game if every 50/50 call goes with Chiefs,’ Houshmandzadeh wrote on social media during the Texans’ divisional round clash with Kansas City. ‘These officials are (trash) & bias(ed).’
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According to Mixon and his agent, Peter Schaffer, the NFL included Houshmandzadeh’s quote, which it attributed to Mixon, in its justification for the fine one month ago.
‘I’m getting fined by the (NFL) for what someone else said,’ Mixon posted on social media at the time. ‘What’s next? I get fined by them for Connor McDavid cross-checking an opponent on a (NHL) game! (facepalm emoji)’
After a brief review, the NFL reissued the fine for Mixon’s comments after the Texans’ loss, which included a couple of controversial calls against Houston.
‘Everybody knows how it is playing up here,’ Mixon said after the game. ‘You can never leave it into the refs’ hands. The whole world sees, man, what it is. When it comes down to it, you can never leave it into the refs’ hands. It’s all good, though.’
When the NFL reissued the penalty, Mixon took to social media again.
‘So let me get this straight NFL fines me 25k for something I didn’t even say,’ Mixon wrote. ‘Call them out for it, and they response was fine me AGAIN for something that’s not even a violation without even rescinding the first one. Where’s the accountability? Just respect the players.
‘Cold (world emoji)’
Now that Mixon has won his appeal, he will not have to pay either $25,000 fine.
