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The Kansas City Chiefs sparked outrage with their pregame tribute to disgraced star Rashee Rice, but despite the backlash, their head coach Andy Reid took no issue with their decision.
Travis Kelce and his teammates bizarrely honored Rice, who is serving a six-game suspension from the NFL for his role in a horror multi-car crash, ahead of their clash against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.
The tight end as well as wide receiver Tyquan Thornton came out onto the field wearing shirts that featured multiple images of the Chiefs receiver on it as well as the phrase 'Free 4'. Rice wears the No 4 jersey.
Given the gravity of Rice's offense, Kelce and Thornton's decision drew criticism online but Reid appeared sympathetic towards his players when questioned on the issue in Monday's press conference.
'I would tell you, the guys love Rashee, and they feel for him sitting out here. And so I think it's no more than that,' the head coach told reporters, according to The Athletic's Jesse Newell.
'I just think that those guys, they love the kid and want them to feel part of it in their own way. I really don't think it's anything more than that.'
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce wore a shirt in support of suspended teammate Rashee Rice
Chiefs head coach Andy Reid appeared to back the move, despite backlash to the shirts
Rice was suspended by the league after racing a Lamborghini on a Dallas highway against his former SMU teammate, Theodore Knox, at speeds of nearly 120 miles per hour in 2024.
Their reckless action sent multiple people to the hospital as the wreck involved six cars.
In July, Rice pled guilty to a third-degree felony count of collision involving serious bodily injury and a third-degree felony count of causing bodily injury.
Rice was sentenced to five-years probation and 30 days of jail time and was ordered to pay $115,481.91 to victims for medical expenses.
Additionally, Rice settled a lawsuit filed by two victims by agreeing to pay $1million plus their legal expenses. He still faces another lawsuit from a different victim.
While Rice's legal punishment was set and covered, the NFL still took the step of suspending him for six games due to violation of the personal conduct policy.
The wideout was therefore absent from Sunday's Super Bowl rematch against the Eagles - the second game of his six-game punishment.
The Chiefs ultimately lost the grudge match, falling to the Eagles once again in a 20-17 loss.
Rice is serving a six-game suspension for his role in a multi-vehicle crash last year
Multiple mistakes by the team's offensive line led to quarterback Patrick Mahomes taking two sacks and ten total quarterback hits. In the end, a late touchdown to cut the deficit to three did not lead to a comeback.
Rice will be eligible to return in Week 7 when the Chiefs face divisional rivals in Tom Brady's Las Vegas Raiders at Arrowhead on October 19.
Rice has appeared to express remorse over the multi-car crash curing Chiefs preseason, insisting that he has learned his lesson from the incident.
He explained to reporters: 'I've completely changed. You have to learn from things like that. I've learned and taken advantage of being able to learn from something like that.'
'I feel 100%. I'm excited to be back out here with the guys. Just kind of basically where I left off at,' he added when asked about his comeback from injury.
'The only thing is get back on the field and continue to have fun doing what I do.'
