Joe Mixon hammers NFL following fine debacle over criticizing officials

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon called out the NFL for the league fining him $25,000 and re-issuing it to include the quote he said about officials. Per Pro Football Talk, the NFL originally fined Mixon for a quote that was said by former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh. When the fine was re-issued, the NFL used Mixon’s actual words in its place.

“Everybody knows how it is playing up here,” Mixon said. “You can never leave it in the refs’ hands. The whole world see, man.”

Mixon’s actual quote wasn’t mentioned in the initial letter, which relied on what Houshmandzadeh said, which was “Why play the game if every 50/50 call goes with Chiefs. These officials are trash and bias.”

Once learning about the re-issuing of the fine, Mixon went to X to sound off. “So let me get this straight NFL fines me 25k for something I didn’t even say. Call them out for it, and they response was fine me AGAIN for something that’s not even a violation without even rescinding the first one,” Mixon wrote. Where’s the accountability? Just respect the players. Cold [World].”

Will Joe Mixon win an appeal?

Mixon will appeal the fine and has a chance to win since his quote is not targeted toward officials. But despite that mishap, Mixon did have a solid 2024 season for the Texans, registering 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns in 14 regular season games. His production this season has led to him being named to the Pro Bowl for the second time in his career.

“Joe is solid, he’s an all-around back. When it comes to blocking, catching, running the football, Joe is all-around, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said in August, per Chron.com. “He’s a strong, physical player. That allows him to do really well in pass protection. You can ask a lot of him in pass protection, he matches up well vs. any blitzers whether it’s linebackers or secondary defenders.

“That’s what you like: giving the quarterback just a little more time to make plays. Joe will do be capable of doing that for us.”

Mixon was traded to the Texans this past March after spending seven seasons with the Bengals. Shortly after the trade, the Texans signed Mixon to a three-year, $27 million contract.