The Houston Texans are in offseason mode as the 2025 offseason has taken a turn. The Texans have been focused on next season once their season ended in the divisional round at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Following that loss, running back Joe Mixon was fined $25,000 for publicly criticizing the officials. On Tuesday, the fine was rescinded after further review.
#NFL hearing officer Chris Palmer has overturned #Texans running back Joe Mixon $25,000 fine in successful appeal of comments regarding officiating in #Chiefs playoff game @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/3XjoXjUx5A
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) February 18, 2025
Joe Mixon’s Fine Was Rescinded by NFL
After the loss to the Chiefs, Mixon said, "You can never leave it into the refs' hands. The whole world sees, man, what it is. When it comes down to it, you can never leave it into the refs' hands. It's all good, though."
Shortly after former Cincinnati Bengals receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh went on X and tweeted, "Why play the game if every 50/50 call goes with the Chiefs. These officials are [trash] & bias."
That led to Mixon being incorrectly attributed in an article on Sports Illustrated, leading to the NFL fining him.
After the initial fine, Mixon went on his X account and said, "So let me get this straight, the NFL fines me 25k for something I didn't even say. Call them out for it, and their response was fine me AGAIN for something that's not even a violation without even rescinding the first one. Where's the accountability? Just respect the players."
One month later, the NFL realized they were in the wrong for making a hasty decision. Appeals officer Chris Palmer addressed the NFL's decision after the hearing process on Jan. 30.
Palmer wrote, "During the appeal hearing, you stated what you meant by your statements referring to the officials. As you know, statements can be interpreted differently by every individual and it seems like you clearly understand the weight and detriment of public criticism towards officials can be, given how impactful your platform is as a player, which I appreciate."
With this officially in the rearview mirror, the attention for Mixon pivots back to training for an important 2025 season.