Kansas City Chiefs’ Rashee Rice promises to ‘mature and continue to grow’ amid legal issues
By Jacob Lev and Ben Church, CNN
(CNN) — Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice says he wants to “mature and continue to grow” amid off-the-field legal issues.
Earlier this offseason, Rice was involved in a six-car crash in Dallas in which two people were hospitalized with minor injuries.
Rice and Southern Methodist University player Theodore Knox are now both facing charges of one count of aggravated assault, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury and six counts of collision involving injury, according to Dallas police.
While speaking to reporters on Saturday at a youth football camp in Kansas City, the 24-year-old Rice said: “I’ve learned so much from that. All I can do is mature and continue to grow from that. This is a step in a better direction for me.”
Dallas police had issued arrest warrants for Rice and Knox after a Corvette and a Lamborghini crashed in the far-left lane of the North Central Expressway on March 31. Both men later turned themselves in to local police.
Six vehicles in total were involved in the crash, authorities said.
“The Lamborghini traveled onto the shoulder and hit the center median wall, causing a chain reaction collision involving four other vehicles,” spokesperson Kristin Lowman told CNN.
“The occupants of the Lamborghini and the Corvette all ran from the scene without stopping to determine if anyone needed medical help or providing their information.”
Rice’s attorney has said his client was driving the Lamborghini. Dallas police confirmed that and said Knox was driving the Corvette.
Players convicted of a crime are subject to discipline under the NFL’s personal conduct policy. If the conduct does not result in a criminal conviction, a player still could be subject to discipline under the policy. CNN has contacted Rice’s lawyer and Dallas police for more details on the legal case’s timeline.
Rookie record
Rice was selected by the Chiefs in the second round of last year’s NFL Draft and as a rookie established himself as the team’s most reliable wide receiver, tallying 79 catches for 938 yards and a team-high of seven touchdowns.
In four playoff games, he added another 26 catches for 262 yards and a touchdown, setting the rookie record for receptions in one postseason. His production and trustworthy hands helped the Chiefs and star quarterback Patrick Mahomes win the Super Bowl in February – the team’s third NFL championship in the past five years.
Rice played college football at Southern Methodist University in Dallas and grew up in North Richland Hills in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
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CNN’s Sara Smart, Steve Almasy, Joe Sutton, Andy Rose, Sarah Dewberry, Eric Levenson, Jill Martin and Ed Lavandera contributed to this report.
