Hall of Fame Wide Receiver Jerry Rice Threatens Reporters During Golf Tournament

Mar 2, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; NFL Hall of Fame player Jerry Rice during the 2024 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Mar 2, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; NFL Hall of Fame player Jerry Rice during the 2024 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

During his 20-year NFL career, Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice was a cool customer—and thanks to his casual excellence, the San Francisco 49ers won three Super Bowls in 1988, 1989 and 1994.

On Friday, however, Rice appeared to lose his cool with two reporters during the first round of the American Century Championship golf tournament in Stateline, Nev..

TMZ obtained footage of the reporters asking Rice whether he thought the Kansas City Chiefs had a good enough core of wide receivers to win their third straight Super Bowl. Taking exception, Rice stormed over and told the journalists, "I will f--- you up!"

The confused reporters—representing Starcade Media in Kansas City—expressed confusion and insisted they meant no harm. Rice told TMZ he believed the reporters intended to slight him, given the 49ers' loss to the Chiefs in February's Super Bowl.

"I'm going to defend the San Francisco 49ers," Rice said. "This is my history."

Rice is tied with Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield for 77th at the end of the celebrity tournament's second round.


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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .