NFL Clears Rice in Domestic Violence Investigation

The National Football League said Friday it has closed its investigation into Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice over accusations of domestic abuse, concluding there was not enough evidence to establish a breach of the league’s personal conduct policy. The league’s decision means Rice, 25, will not be disciplined by the NFL in connection with these specific allegations.

 

The inquiry centered on claims by Dacoda Jones, identified as Rice’s former girlfriend and the mother of his two children. Officials said the review examined allegations that Jones described as repeated abuse over several years. According to the details provided, Jones filed a lawsuit in Texas in February seeking more than $1 million and alleging assaults by Rice between 2023 and 2025, including an allegation of strangulation in December 2023.

 

Rice’s attorney, Sean Lindsey, pointed to an October 2025 affidavit in which Jones previously stated that Rice did not physically assault her during a verbal argument. The NFL’s announcement addressed only whether the domestic abuse allegations, as reviewed by the league, supported a violation of the personal conduct policy. The league did not announce any penalty tied to that set of claims.

 

Separately, Rice has already faced NFL discipline under the personal conduct policy in connection with a different matter. The league previously suspended him for six games following a multi-car crash in March 2024. In that incident, Rice was driving 119 mph on a Dallas highway, which led to injuries, and he later fled the scene, according to the case details described.

 

In July, Rice pleaded guilty to two third-degree felony charges related to the March 2024 crash. He received a sentence of 30 days in jail and five years of probation. A trial connected to that incident is scheduled for June 9.

 

For the Chiefs and the NFL, the Friday decision narrows the league’s active enforcement exposure around Rice to matters outside the domestic abuse allegations reviewed in this investigation. The outcome also underscores that the NFL’s personal conduct policy process can produce different results across separate incidents, depending on the evidence available and the scope of the league’s review.

 

Key uncertainties remain because the league’s statement did not detail the evidence it assessed or explain how it weighed competing accounts. The Texas civil lawsuit described is also separate from the NFL’s internal process, and the June 9 court date tied to the crash remains on the calendar as stated.