NFL fines Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon He never commented on the referees during the team’s playoff loss to the Kansas City Chiefs last Saturday.

After Mixon and his agent appealed the fine and publicly stated that Mixon did not make those comments, the NFL reissued the fine with the comments he did make.

The original fine claimed Mixon said: “If every 50/50 call goes through, why play the game?” with the chiefs. These officials are garbage and biased. ”

This statement does not come from Mixon. former NFL wide receiver TJ Houshmandzadeh wrote in a social media post.

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Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (No. 28) and quarterback C.J. Stroud (No. 7) in NFL football on Monday, November 18, 2024 in Arlington, Texas Celebrating Mixon’s touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in the first half of the game. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)

Mixon later went on a tirade on social media, denying he had made the statement and expressing anger at the league’s fine.

National Football League He later reissued the ticket with his own words, which read, “Everyone knows how things go around here. You can never leave it to the referee. The whole world will see it,” NBC Sports reported. , man,” according to NBC Sports.

League rules prohibit public criticism of referees “because it would call into question the integrity of our game and the public’s confidence in our game.”

After the Texans were called for two questionable pass penalties for hitting Patrick Mahomes on Saturday, officials were criticized by Texans players and head coach DeMeco Ryans, as well as numerous media pundits and social media Widespread criticism from fans.

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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, #15, during the NFL Football AFC Divisional Season playoff game against the Houston Texans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on January 18, 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri Injured during the game. (Perry Knotts/Getty Images)

The first penalty came when Houston edge rusher Will Anderson was flagged for roughing the passer on his third play of the first quarter. Anderson appeared to shove Mahomes in the chest after Mahomes threw an incomplete pass to tight end Travis Kelce. Anderson is tagged.

The second penalty occurred during a scramble by Mahomes in the third quarter. He has two blockers running and three defenders closing in on him. When he decided to coast, he moved to the right and then back to the left.

Referee Clay Martin explained the calls to pool reporters after the game, saying one of the controversial calls was the result of “forcible contact with the mask area,” thus requiring a flag. He said someone forcibly touched Mahomes’ “hairline” during another unnecessary rough call.

Mahomes himself defended the call when asked by reporters on Wednesday whether he believed the referees were giving him preferential treatment.

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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback No. 15 Patrick Mahomes is tackled by Houston Texans No. 0 during the first quarter of an AFC divisional playoff game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on January 18, 2025. Tackle by Ziz Alshair, Missouri. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

“I don’t think so,” Mahomes responded. “At the end of the day, the referees are going to do their best to make the game as fair and appropriate as possible. All you can do is play the game you love as hard as you can and live with the results.” … I think that’s what we preach in Kansas City.

“Every year you have new referees, you have new situations, but you can never really tell because every game is different. That’s what makes the NFL so special. I feel like I just keep competing, I just try to make whatever happens happen.”

Meanwhile, Kelce declined to talk about the issue when asked about it on Wednesday by his brother, Jason Kelce, on their podcast “New Heights.”

“I want to defend the fifth man,” the tight end joked, saying his constitutional right is to remain silent.

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