Texans Joe Mixon May Have Picked Up Craziest Fine in NFL Histor
Joe Mixon May Have Picked Up Craziest Fine in NFL History
Source: Joe Mixon #28 of the Houston Texans celebrates during an NFL football AFC divisional playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on January 18, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Perry Knotts/Getty Images)
HOUSTON — Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon picked up a $25,000 fine for a tweet criticizing NFL referees after their divisional round loss to the Kansas City Chiefs Saturday. The catch however, is Mixon wasn’t the one who wrote or posted the tweet.
After the game, Mixon was asked about the officiating in relation to the two penalties the Texans defense drew for making contact with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. For reference, the penalties extended would could’ve become stalled drives, leading to 10 crucial points for the Chiefs in their in the 23-14 victory.
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“Everybody knows how it is playing up here. You can never leave it into the refs’ hands,” Mixon said. “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.”
Former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh voiced his agreement with Mixon’s assessment of the officiating situation, posting this tweet:
“Why play the game if every 50/50 call goes with the Chiefs,” Houshmandzadeh said in a tweet. “These officials are [trash] [and] bias.”
Here’s where the controversy starts: Sports Illustrated originally attributed Houshmandzadeh’s tweet to Mixon, according to ESPN. Someone in the NFL front office must of seen this, because the league came back and levied the $25,000 at Mixon because of Houshmandzadeh’s tweet, according to Mixon and his agent, Peter Schaffer,
Mixon, reasonably upset with the mixup, voiced his frustration with the fine by sending off a tweet of his own on Wednesday:
“I’m getting fined by the [NFL] for what someone else said,” Mixon said in a tweet. “What’s next? I get fined by them for Connor McDavid cross checking an opponent on a [NHL] game!”
“[And] really tried to fine me [for] the max that’s mind blowing… smh,” Mixon said in another tweet.
The story doesn’t end there, as instead of rescinding the fine over an obvious mixup, the NFL doubled down and fined Mixon again for his tweets about being fined initially. Naturally, Mixon wasn’t too pleased to learn this either:
“So let me get this straight NFL fines me 25k for something I didn’t even say,” Mixon said in a tweet. “Call them out for it, and [their] 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].”
Schaffer said he and Mixon will be appealing the fine.
Talk about “power of the pen.”
