Lawyer for Rashee Rice crash victim rips Travis Kelce for wearing t-shirt supporting Rice
With an 0-2 start to the NFL season, the Kansas City Chiefs are surely missing the talents of wide receiver Rashee Rice on the field.
Chiefs superstar tight end Travis Kelce made that clear before Sunday's loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, sporting a t-shirt saying "Free 4," a reference to Rice's number.
But the shirt caught the attention of Dallas attorney Marc Lenahan, whose client is connected to why Rice is absent from the team.
Rashee Rice settles with woman injured in car crash
Rice, a North Texas native and former SMU star, is serving a 6-game suspension to start the season stemming from a 2024 car crash on Central Expressway in Dallas.
Lenahan's client Kathryn Kuykendall was hurt in the crash. She settled a civil lawsuit against Rice over the summer, with Rice agreeing to pay her $1 million, plus interest and attorney's fees totalling nearly $100,000.
But Lenahan said Rice has not held up his side of the deal.
On Monday, Lenahan issued a statement regarding Kelce's shirt saying in part, "Free Rashee? He already thinks he's getting away scot-free. He's not paid a single cent of the $1.1m Judgment he already owes our client, who is living anything but pain-free."
"Talk and t-shirts are cheap," the statement continued.
In another statement to CBS News Texas on Tuesday, Lenahan said Rice needs to take out a loan to cover the settlement.
"I get that banks would seem [Rice] as a bad risk, but Kelce loves him like a brother, and I respect that. Kelce could make that loan and not worry too much about how soon it gets repaid," Lenahan said, citing Kelce's purported net worth.
According to the website Sportrac.com, Kelce is earning over $17 million this season from the Chiefs, and has career earnings of $111 million.
And even if Rice never repays the loan, Lenehan suggested that the wealth of Kelce's fiancée – Taylor Swift – makes it so "they'll be able to pay the light bill."
2024 car crash in Dallas
On March 30, 2024, Rice was racing a friend on Central Expressway when the Lamborghini he was driving struck the center median wall, officials said. That caused four other vehicles to collide with each other. An arrest affidavit stated that Rice was driving 119 mph before crashing.
The NFL issued the 6-game suspension last month after Rice pleaded guilty to collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury in July. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail, 5 years of probation and more than $115,000 of restitution.
Rice still faces other civil lawsuits from people who were involved in the crash.