Rashee Rice, the Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver, is expected to be charged by the Dallas Police Department, perhaps as soon as this week, following his involvement in a multi-vehicle car crash that occurred on March 30 in northeast Dallas. Rice was the driver of a Lamborghini sport utility vehicle that caused the crash, his attorney Royce West said Thursday in a news conference. The crash caused a chain reaction collision involving four other vehicles, police said.
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Two other drivers involved were treated at the scene for minor injuries and two occupants of another vehicle were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
As the police continue their investigation, here’s an updated look at what’s next for Rice.
What do we know?
In the preliminary portion of its investigation, the Dallas Police Department determined that Rice and the driver of a Corvette, which Rice owns, were speeding on an expressway and lost control. The Lamborghini hit the center median wall, causing the chain reaction collision.
The crash was captured on camera. Photos after the crash also showed that Rice, the driver of the Corvette and the occupants of both vehicles ran from the scene. The next day, Rice began receiving counsel from West, a Texas state senator in District 23, which represents Dallas.
Last Thursday, West was asked by reporters in Dallas to share details as to why Rice and the rest of the group left the crash.
“That’s a good question that’s still being investigated,” West said. “I can’t get into the particulars now.”
West later added: “My main focus over these last few days has been to understand, as best possible, the facts — and I still don’t have all of the facts — and make certain the police department understood that Rashee was not running from anybody or trying to hide from anyone. He wanted to cooperate, which we’ve done.”
Police responded to the crash on the expressway around 6:25 p.m. CT on March 30, according to a police statement obtained by The Athletic. West’s first meeting with the police occurred the next day. He and Rice met with the police on April 3.
“Every question that he was asked of him, he responded to,” West said of Rice.
After his interview with the police, Rice made his first public comments about the crash through a story post on his Instagram account.
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“I take full responsibility for my part in this matter and will continue to cooperate with the necessary authorities,” Rice wrote. “I sincerely apologize to everyone impacted in Saturday’s accident.”
What charges could Rice face?
West said the police told him that Rice would be charged for his role in the crash, a police decision that could be decided this week.
Rice could face a felony charge for drag racing on the expressway, a violation defined as “two or more vehicles from a point side by side at accelerating speeds in a competitive attempt to outdistance each other.” He could also be charged for fleeing the crash.
If convicted, Rice could be sentenced to multiple years in prison.
The day after the crash, Ted Crews, the Chiefs’ executive vice president of communications, declined to comment when contacted by The Athletic. The following day, team president Mark Donovan became the first — and so far only — person in the organization to speak publicly on the situation in an interview with KCMO radio.
“In all these situations you have to wait until you have all the facts, and frankly, we don’t have all the facts at this point,” Donovan said. “The one comforting fact that we do have is that there was a multi-car crash in Texas, in Dallas, and fortunately, it doesn’t appear that anyone was hurt and we should be grateful for that. We’ll get to the bottom of it, we’ll gather the facts and we’ll react accordingly.”
West said he has communicated with the attorneys representing those injured in the crash. West said he hopes that Rice will have the opportunity to speak with the people who were injured to apologize to them in the near future.
“Our priority, right now, is making sure those persons involved in that accident are taken care of,” West said. “(Rice’s) heart goes out to (the injured people). He’s a young man that made a mistake. But for the grace of God, someone could’ve been seriously injured and (Rice) understands that — and he appreciates that. That’s why he wanted to come out and say that he’s going to be responsible for making certain that the victims are made whole, as best possible.”
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Rice, 23, grew up in North Richland Hills, a suburb of Fort Worth. He starred in college at SMU, and the Chiefs selected him in the second round of the NFL Draft last year.
As a rookie, Rice emerged as the Chiefs’ top receiver, recording 79 receptions for 938 yards and seven touchdowns in 16 season games. He produced 26 receptions and 262 yards in the Chiefs’ four-game postseason run that ended with a second consecutive Super Bowl victory.
Could Rice be suspended?
Even if Rice isn’t convicted, or he agrees to a plea deal, he is likely to be suspended.
Despite a lack of criminal charges, a notable group of players — including former quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback Jameis Winston and running backs Ezekiel Elliott and Kareem Hunt — have been suspended by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
Through the collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Players Association, the NFL and Goodell have broad disciplinary power. The league’s personal conduct policy states that NFL players and employees are “held to a higher standard and must conduct ourselves in a way that is responsible, promotes the values of the NFL and is lawful.”
Rice could be suspended multiple games next season for violating the personal conduct policy. Regarding Rice’s incident, the policy defines one violation as “conduct that poses a genuine danger to the safety and well-being of another person.”
Chiefs defensive end Charles Omenihu, then with the San Francisco 49ers, was arrested in San Jose, Calif., in January of 2023 on suspicion of misdemeanor domestic violence, according to the San Jose Police Department. Omenihu pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of illegally destroying, removing or obstructing the use of a wireless communication device, and the two misdemeanor counts of domestic battery were dismissed. He also completed community service and 32 hours of counseling. The NFL suspended Omenihu for the season’s first six games for violating the personal conduct policy.
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The league suspended then-Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay Jr. for four games during the 2022 season as punishment for violating the personal conduct policy after an incident in January 2022, when he was arrested in Overland Park, Kan., and booked for a Class B misdemeanor criminal damage to property charge of less than $1,000.
If Rice faces felony charges, Goodell could place him on the league’s commissioner’s exempt list. Created in 2014 in the wake of the domestic violence case involving then-Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, the exempt list allows the league to remove a player facing felony charges from the playing field and take that disciplinary decision away from the team. The exempt list is, in essence, a paid suspension during the regular season. The personal conduct policy states the NFL can also place a player on this list if league investigators want more time to look into allegations of a “crime of violence.”
West said the public will hear from Rashee Rice, who could speak as early as this week.
“The fact is you’ve got a 23-year-old young man who’s never been in this type of situation before,” West said of Rice. “What happens next is we continue to work with the Dallas Police Department, answering questions that they have, and we work with the victims to make certain that we deal with their issues, (whether) bodily injury or property damage.”
(Photo: Michael Owens / Getty Images)
