It was a miracle no one died last year when Rashee Rice, per police reports, drove a leased Lamborghini Urus SUV at 119 mph on a Dallas highway and triggered a horrifying six-car crash.
That fortune extended to Rice himself, who could have been maimed or paralyzed or otherwise unable to walk away.
But walk away the Chiefs’ budding star receiver immediately did, either willfully oblivious to the suffering and mayhem he had caused or concerned only with its impact on him and his friends.
And the act was compounded by not immediately meeting with police after they announced they were searching for him and days later releasing a vague and tepid statement through his attorney.
Sixteen months later, those appalling details still resonate here.
And those actions remind why it was significant that Rice be held accountable and take more transparent responsibility — notions that had been languishing while his case was being reconciled.
A start toward that finally came Thursday in the form of a Dallas County District Attorney’s Office news release headlined “Rashee Rice Pleads Guilty to Collision Involving Serious Bodily Injury and Racing on a Highway Causing Bodily Injury.”
In a plea agreement, Rice pleaded guilty to two third-degree felony charges. He was sentenced to five years of probation, 30 days in jail as a condition of the probation and required to pay restitution to all victims for their out-of-pocket medical expenses prior to the plea; the restitution totaled $115,481.91.
Whatever you make of his sentence, well, justice is approximate, as an old friend liked to say, and often imperfect for many reasons.
I’m sure more people think it’s too little or too much than perceive it to be just right.
Seems to me, though, it’s hardly inconsequential that an NFL player has been sentenced to some jail time.
Meanwhile, I also thought Rice’s statement, as presented by attorney Royce West in the release, took some reasonably appropriate ownership he hadn’t expressed before.
While the first sentence of that wasn’t quite forthright, saying Rice had been “involved in a high-speed accident in Dallas,” the rest suggests he is accepting blame and recognizes the consequences.
“There have been a lot of sleepless nights thinking about the damages that my actions caused,” the statement reads, “and I will continue working within my means to make sure that everyone impacted will be made whole. I urge everyone to mind the speed limit, drive safe and drive smart.
“Last and certainly not least, I am profoundly sorry for the physical damages to person and property. I fully apologize for the harm I caused to innocent drivers and their families.”
Some of that apology, though, remains open to interpretation.
According to reporting by The Star’s Jesse Newell, one of the civil cases against Rice was recently resolved.
Court records reflect a settlement Wednesday in which Rice agreed to pay one of the victim families $1,086,000. That settlement amount included pre-judgment interest and attorneys’ fees. And if the full amount isn’t paid, interest will be added until it is.
But the attorney of the victim told Newell that Rice has not followed through on an assurance of prompt payment.
So what happened Thursday is far more a start than a resolution in several ways.
With Rice’s criminal case resolved, the NFL now is able to rule on his status under the league’s personal conduct policy.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who was first to report the news, also wrote that the NFL now can “expedite its disciplinary process,” and that “Rice is likely to receive a multi-game suspension.”
In a statement to The Star, the NFL said, simply, “We have been closely monitoring all developments in the matter which remains under review.”
However long that apparently inevitable suspension is could be a debatable result when it’s delivered.
Again, justice is approximate and we’ll reserve the right to respond when we see how it’s reasoned and what it is.
But there’s no doubt that a suspension is merited.
And that it should stand as not merely another element of punishment for Rice but another measure of his growth into true accountability.
As for how this affects the Chiefs, that’s too bad and all but … so be it.
Even as Rice was thriving in 2024 before he suffered a season-ending injury, there was something unsavory about him playing with this hovering unresolved and with scant sense of any answerability.
Now, that shadow figures to be dispersed sooner than later by the suspension. Which is something that the Chiefs, in their capacity as a public trust, should welcome as they prepare to begin training camp on Tuesday in St. Joseph.
From a more coldly practical standpoint, they should welcome clarifying how long and when he’ll be out and finally putting all of this behind them … as much as that can be done.
And that brings us to the most crucial aspect of why and how this represents merely a start for Rice.
Through his words, anyway, he seems contrite and deeply affected.
Enough so that Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot said he “commends” Rice for warning of the dangers of street racing.
“When someone with Mr. Rice’s public platform chooses to drive so recklessly, there is a responsibility to acknowledge the danger posed to others and take accountability,” Creuzot added in the news release. “A vehicle in the wrong hands can be as dangerous as any weapon. We are extremely fortunate that no lives were lost that day, and Mr. Rice is fortunate to have walked away unharmed.
“We hope he takes this as an opportunity to mature and leads by example moving forward. I wish him the best in making safer choices.”
If Rice sincerely sees it that way and appreciates how fortunate he is on so many levels, his worst moment needn’t define him.
Instead, it can be something from which he resets and pushes off.
In certain ways, he’s got a fresh start now.
It’s all up to him from here.