The Kansas City Chiefs are attempting to pull off an almost impossible feat by winning three Super Bowls in a row.
Heading into a season with so much on the line, the organization would ideally like to avoid as many distractions as possible heading into 2024, but the opposite has been true.
The Chiefs have dominated headlines this offseason —but the storylines haven’t been about football — and there seems to be one controversy after the next with the Super Bowl champs.
For the last two months, Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice has been in the news and his availability in 2024 is a major question mark as of now.
Rice was a second-round pick in the 2023 NFL draft and his rookie season ended with a Super Bowl victory. He was a key part of the effort as he broke the NFL postseason rookie receptions record with 26 catches. However, his football accomplishments are currently being overshadowed by off-field issues. He is facing multiple felony charges due to a multi-vehicle crash that happened in Dallas in March. He is also under investigation for allegedly assaulting a photographer at a nightclub earlier this month.
Right when the Rice stuff started to die down a little bit, Harrison Butker — the Chiefs kicker, who is one of the best players at his position in the NFL — brought more controversy to the organization due to a speech he gave at a Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas. During his commencement speech, Butker was accused of making homophobic, sexist and misogynistic remarks.
On top of that, Kansas City offensive linemen Wanya Morris and Chukwuebuka Godrick were arrested on Thursday for possession of marijuana
On Wednesday, the face of the franchise Patrick Mahomes, took to the podium after OTA practice and publicly addressed the situation with Rashee Rice.
Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes Breaks Silence On Rashee Rice Situation
Rice’s alleged assault victim wants any potential charges against the Chiefs receiver dropped, calling their altercation a “misunderstanding.” Rice, though, still faces eight felony charges related to his involvement in a high-speed car crash in Dallas earlier this offseason.
Neither the NFL nor the Chiefs have punished Rice so far, waiting for the legal process to play out.
So, Rice is attending the team’s organized team activities with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes said everyone associated with the team is doing what they can to help Rice avoid future off-field mistakes.
“It’s not just me. [We’re all] just trying to do whatever we can to teach him how to learn from his mistakes,” Mahomes said Wednesday, via video from the team. “Obviously, that was a big mistake. You get to learn from it and make sure it doesn’t happen again and try to do whatever you can to be the best person you can be in society, not only for yourself but for the people around you. I think he is doing that.”
The franchise QB made it clear the entire Kansas City Chiefs organization is trying to set Rice up for the best possible future, regardless of the pending legal situation.
“Right now, we’re just going to keep trying to do whatever we can to get him on the right path, so that he can be a great football player, obviously, but we want to be a great person, too.”
The reigning Super Bowl champions, who are going for a three-peat, have not had the best of offseasons. Rice’s legal troubles, the arrests of offensive tackles Wanya Morris and Chukwuebuka Godrick for misdemeanor marijuana possession and Harrison Butker’s controversial commencement speech have made headlines since they raised their third Lombardi Trophy in five seasons.
“It’s just about being as smart as we can when we’re not in the building,” Mahomes said. “I think guys understand we have to step up as a team and an organization in that way. But we have to go out and prove that for other people to believe that as well.”
