NFL rescinds Mixon’s fine for criticizing officials​on February 18, 2025 at 11:43 pm

HOUSTON — Texans running back Joe Mixon has won his appeal over a $25,000 fine he received following Houston’s playoff loss to the Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Appeals officer Chris Palmer explained in his letter to Mixon that after going through the hearing process on Jan. 30 he found that Mixon “did not necessarily publicly criticize the officials.”

“During the appeal hearing, you stated what you meant by your statements referring to the officials,” Palmer wrote. “As you know, statements can be interpreted differently by every individual and it seems like you clearly understand the weight and detriment of public criticism towards officials can be, given how impactful your platform is as a player, which I appreciate.”

Texans defensive end Will Anderson Jr. also received a $25,000 fine following the Texans’ playoff loss for saying, “We knew it was going to be us versus the refs going into this game.” Anderson also appealed and had his fine overturned, a source confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday.

The Athletic first reported the news of Anderson’s successful appeal.

The Texans’ defense was flagged for two separate penalties for contacting Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Both penalties extended Kansas City drives, leading to a crucial 10 points for the Chiefs in their 23-14 win.

Mixon was asked after the loss about the questionable calls and said, “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 wideout T.J. Houshmandzadeh agreed with Mixon and posted the following on X: “Why play the game if every 50/50 call goes with the Chiefs. These officials are [trash] & bias.”

Mixon was originally issued the $25,000 fine for Houshmandzadeh’s comments, which were incorrectly attributed to Mixon in a Sports Illustrated story. The NFL cited the “50/50” quote in levying the fine to the running back, according to Mixon and his agent, Peter Schaffer. Sports Illustrated has since corrected its error.

After a couple of hours, the NFL reissued the fine for the comments Mixon actually made after the game.

On Jan. 22, Mixon voiced his complaints about the NFL’s process in fining him.

“So let me get this straight, the NFL fines me 25k for something I didn’t even say,” Mixon posted to X. “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. Where’s the accountability? Just respect the players.”