Chiefs WR Rashee Rice comments on offseason legal troubles
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice has had a tumultuous offseason following his outstanding rookie season.
Rice led the team’s receivers with 79 catches, 938 yards and a team-leading seven touchdown receptions en route to Kansas City’s second straight Super Bowl.
After the high of winning football’s grand prize, Rice and his former SMU teammate Theodore Knox were involved in a Dallas, Texas multi-vehicle crash on March 30 and both are facing eight criminal charges.
Both are also facing lawsuits worth millions of dollars from the victims of the crash.
Rice is also under investigation for allegedly punching a photographer in a Dallas nightclub on May 6 but the photographer has signaled that he wants the charges dropped.
At a football camp hosted by Chiefs receivers Skyy Moore, Hollywood Brown, Xavier Worthy, Mecole Hardman and Rice, Rice said that he is “great” and taking life “day by day”.
“Being grateful for every day,” he said. “Nothing possible without the grace of God so we just out here trying to share the love and be blessed for every opportunity we get.
“I’ve learned so much from [the offseason troubles]. All I can do is mature and continue to grow from that. This is a step in a better direction for me. Accidents and stuff like that happen but all you can do is kind of move forward and walk around being the same person and try to be positive so that everybody could feel your love and your good energy.”
Rice said he’s leaning on his team and the Kansas City community as he navigates his legal troubles. He has been participating in the Chiefs’ offseason workout and head coach Andy Reid has said he will continue to do so.
Veteran receiver Hardman re-signed with the Chiefs on Thursday, practiced on Friday at organized team activities and gave some generic advice to kids at the camp and young players on the team.
“Keeping the main thing, the main thing man, doing everything the right way,” Hardman said. “I think people get the wrong impression of the good thing is like lame or boring. But at the end of the day when you start growing up man, all the good things will get you where you need to be and living the right way.
“With the younger guys on the team, you got Shee, you got Xavier and you guys a lot of young guys coming in, just buy into the system, work hard, you know, stay out the way, and everything will fall in place. Just trying to keep them afloat.”
Above all, each player was more than happy to show kids that they too have a shot at being an NFL player because they used to be where those kids are now.
“It’s very important,” Brown said. The camp was his idea to start. “I remember when I was younger, I always wanted to go to those counselors like guys and I never was able to because they’re always paid. So just to be able to come out here and spend time, give back, it means a lot to me.”
“It’s about a fellowship,” Brown explained. “Whenever you can just have a conversation with kids, anybody from different backgrounds and, you know, all places around the world. I feel like it’s important. I feel like, as humans, that’s what’s needed more in this world.”
“Super fun,” Moore said. “It reminds me of like back home in Pittsburgh. We always grow up and you kind of like forget like forget where you came from. Not forget where you came from but like you’re so present in the now like I’m worried about plays not you know little youth football teams right now. So come back here and get in contact with the community man it feels great.”
“It’s great to be able to come out here and have an impact in the community,” Rice said. “Especially since… memories aren’t too short so we kind of remember exactly how it feels to be out here and how it feels wishing that we would be in the NFL.
