Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice’s stretch in a Texas jail is coming to an end, but it wasn’t without its bumps.
Rice, 26, is scheduled for release Tuesday.
One bump concerned his knee. Just before he was sent to the Dallas County Jail on May 19, Rice had knee surgery. His lawyer requested a court order to allow Rice to receive treatment while locked up.
“The Court grants the Defendant’s request and recommends the Sheriff’s Department to provide the Defendant transportation to Parkland for knee therapy,” the May 28 court order said.
Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas County’s public hospital, didn’t perform Rice’s knee surgery, but it was used for “outside medical needs,” Rice’s lawyer, Thomas McMurray, told KCUR.
The other bump was where Rice was housed. He was being kept in “an isolated cell” while in jail.
“I don’t know why,” McMurray said. “Maybe because of his profile.”
The court eventually granted McMurray’s request “that the Defendant be placed in general population,” according to the order.
The Dallas County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to an email asking why Rice was in isolation.
Start of legal troubles
Rice pleaded guilty last July to two felonies connected to a high-speed crash on a Dallas highway on March 30, 2024, that injured four people. He was sentenced to five years probation and 30 days in jail, to be served sometime during his probation.
Rice was ordered to immediately surrender on May 19 after testing positive for THC, a violation of his probation conditions.
Rice has faced numerous legal issues since the crash.
Four civil lawsuits were filed by crash victims. Two of those were settled, McMurray said.
Rice was sued in February by his longtime partner and mother of his two children, Dacoda Jones, who accused him of causing her "numerous physical injuries and significant pain and suffering," according to the lawsuit.
Future with Chiefs
Rice missed the Chiefs’ three-day minicamp that ended Thursday. But the team expects him for training camp at the end of August.
"We think he'll be ready for camp as we go forward. We'll just see how it goes," Chiefs coach Andy Reid told the Associated Press during voluntary workouts in May.
"Life lessons are important," he added, "but we're all given chances to learn, and he's in that position now.”
McMurray told KCUR in a phone interview that Rice has “learned a hard lesson.”
“He has a good change to be a contributing member to the Chiefs and society,” McMurray said.
