The ex-girlfriend of Kansas City wide receiver Rashee Rice, Dacoda Nichole Jones, posted 14 photos to her Instagram account on Wednesday, many showing her with bruises on her body, scratch marks, and a broken lip. Jones began the post's caption with "DOMESTIC AWARENESS WARNING!!" The photos also showed a hole in a wall, damage to a cabinet, a closet, and a kitchen. Jones didn't name explicitly name Rice in her post, but she described being in a years-long abusive relationship with a man while living in Kansas and Texas. Rice played college football at SMU before being drafted by Kansas City. Jones and Rice, the Associated Press reported, have two children together.
This is what Jones posted in full, along with the photos:
I’m so tired of keeping quiet I’m so tired of protecting his image. I’ve been through too much in a span of 8 years and I’ve had ENOUGH! I’ve dealt with abuse for years, me and this man decided to break up a couple months ago and since then it’s been nothing but hell. He’s very controlling there’s been times he’s came to my new home broken my door, there’s been times when he would put his hands on me while I was pregnant even had the audacity to lock me outside all night in ten degree weather because he got caught cheating. He’s cut up all my shoes and clothes leaving me with nothing because he’s gotten caught up. And there’s multiple instances of cheating but besides that I’m just tired of him not doing right by my boys. It’s not fair he doesn’t call them. He rather be layed up with hoes. He literally left us in Kansas and I had to beg him to send money so that I could drive to Texas with my kids and all our stuff. We have an agreement because of everything he’s put me through and he still doesn’t follow it. He’s now trying to remove me and my kids from our home for no apparent reason. I’ve known this man for YEARS. He tries to put on this persona like he’s dad of the year. He does the bare minimum and I have to beg for that. I’ve protected his image too long and I’m done doing that. It’s time to protect my peace, protect my children and stand up for myself
Kansas City and the NFL both issued statements on Thursday. The one from team was terse, saying the club was "aware of the allegations on social media" and talking with the NFL about it. The NFL's statement was equally short, saying the league was in contact with the club and would review "the matter." It's worth pointing out that there is little impetus for the league to act quickly; Kansas City did not qualify for this year's playoffs, so its season is over.
Rice already served an NFL suspension last year after he pleaded guilty to a pair of third-degree felony charges, per the AP, due to his role in a chain-reaction crash on a Dallas highway. WFAA in Dallas said Rice was speeding in a Lamborghini when his car was hit by a Corvette driven by a then-SMU football player. The NFL suspended Rice in 2025 for six games.
Rice is the third NFL player to be accused of violence in recent weeks. In late December, New England Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs was charged with one count of felony strangulation or suffocation, and one count of misdemeanor assault and battery, after a private chef who had been working for him told police that Diggs had tried to choke her. A day later, the news broke that Patriots defensive tackle Christian Barmore was recently charged with one count of misdemeanor assault and battery on a family or household member, after the mother of his child told law enforcement that during an argument he grabbed her and threw her to the floor.
