Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice is expected to play in at least the first four games of the 2025 NFL season, despite pleading guilty last month to two third-degree felony charges connected to a March 2024 high-speed crash in Dallas that injured multiple people. The NFL has pushed back any disciplinary action until Sept. 30, effectively clearing Rice to appear in some of the league’s most high-profile early matchups.
(Among those games: a Week 2 Monday night rematch of the AFC Championship, plus an overseas game in Week 4 — both major revenue and ratings drivers for the league.)
Marc Lenahan, an attorney representing Kathryn Kuykendal, one of the victims, blasted both the NFL and Rice, accusing the league of fostering a culture of no accountability after Rice’s reckless driving in a rented Lamborghini. “It makes no sense,” Lenahan said, noting that his client is still waiting on a $1 million civil settlement he says both parties agreed to back in April.
“Poor Rashee says he can play, but can’t pay. He says his groin has healed up, but he still hasn’t grown up.”
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Lenahan — who’s been practicing law for over 22 years — continued his criticism by shading the NFL for what he says is a lack of empathy toward Kuykendall and the rest of the victims injured in the hit-and-run crash.
“The NFL is sending poor Rashee to São Paulo to live it up,” Lenahan scoffed, “instead of to Wells Fargo to get a loan” and pay what he owes.
Rice drove a 2020 Urus at speeds of over 100 MPH on a Texas highway in March 2024 while racing a friend … before he crashed it into several other vehicles. Instead of sticking around to render aid, he bolted from the scene.
The league’s decision to hold off on punishment stands in stark contrast to how quickly it has acted in other cases — including those involving far less serious charges. That inconsistency has led to renewed criticism of the NFL’s personal conduct policy and whether it’s applied evenly.
Critics argue that the timing benefits both the player and the league. Rice’s on-field performance and rising profile make him a valuable asset, and the NFL’s delay raises questions about whether competitive and commercial considerations are outweighing discipline.
At stake is more than just one player’s availability. The league’s credibility is once again on the line, as it tries to explain why a convicted felon is cleared to play — while victims wait for justice, and fans are left questioning the standards the NFL claims to uphold.