On Easter Sunday, March 31st, Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice was reportedly involved in a large minor injury accident on US-75 in Dallas, Texas. Rice and a few others were allegedly racing down the interstate in a Lamborghini SUV and Chevrolet Corvette when the Lamborghini lost control and spun out, hitting multiple other cars including the Corvette. Multiple people suffered minor injuries, including a mother and her 4-year-old child, and those driving the vehicles were seen fleeing the scene.
Warning: The following footage below may be disturbing to readers. Viewer discretion is advised.
The Corvette was IDed as belonging to Rashee Rice, while the Lamborghini was leased to the Chiefs receiver per rental documents given to authorities. According to multiple sources, Rice has been "fully cooperative" with authorities regarding the situation and took to Instagram to display his remorse and accountability for the situation.
Rice and His Lawyer Make a Statement
Today, Rashee Rice and his attorney, Royce West, who has represented the likes of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, released a statement and took questions regarding the matter. Rice and West admitted that Rice was driving the Lamborghini that lost control and that Rice "will handle all his responsibilities regarding the matter." West also said on behalf of his client that the media should do a story of "Who (Rice) is, as opposed to what occurred." and that they should not define him with this singular incident, but rather look at what he has done. Rice and West remain cooperative and the investigation is still ongoing. More details will come as they are released.
As It Stands Now...
Let me be clear that I agree with Mr. West's sentiment: Rice is by no means a bad man for what happened on Sunday and he should be judged based on who he is as a person, not by this singular incident. As someone who has had their fair share of mistakes themselves, I resonate with that and do not think less of Rice. He screwed up, plain and simple, but Rice is still old enough to know that actions have consequences and that he should not have done what he did. That is what matters in a court of law and that is how he will be judged in a court of law. He's not getting off scot-free just because he is a "good person", a hefty fine and ticket are likely in his future, good lawyer or not. I doubt any sort of jail time, however, the punishment from the NFL awaits him as well. Given the severity of the situation, I would anticipate some sort of suspension and fine, how long and how much remains to be determined. Given the unpredictability of the NFL's punishment system, it really could be anything depending on how generous they're feeling.
What needs to happen now though is that Rice needs to understand that this should be a wakeup call. A gut check from a higher power and likely the league and law to boot. Switch your friend group up to where you're not tempted by bad habits and bad people, always think before you do, and remind yourself how lucky you are to be playing a sport for a boatload of money, how fragile that career is, and how hard it is to get back once you lose it. One can only wish to be so fortunate, shoot, in this case, he's fortunate enough to be alive and not have killed anyone. This could easily have been worse and he's incredibly lucky it wasn't. I hope this offers Rashee a chance to reflect, not dwell, but reflect on his past and his future, otherwise, if this is not a lesson learned, he is doomed to repeat it. Part of the human condition is learning from your mistakes and bettering yourself from them, if you can't/won't do that, then not only are you doomed to repeat them, but you don't grow as a person and change into your best self. Rice is still very young, and has the chance to impact a lot of hearts and minds, he mustn't lose that and hopefully, he realizes how impactful his existence is. In the end, mistakes happen, but the important, nay, the imperative, is that you learn and grow. Let's hope Rashee does so.
Burn Notice: 10/10 Slow down and be careful on the road...
Comments