As fans and readers know by now, the Kansas City Chiefs were the subject of an NFL conspiracy theory in 2024 — as opposing fans accused referees of rigging games in their favor in order to help them advance to the Super Bowl.
At times, the league’s somewhat sensitive approach to dealing with this storyline only strengthened the narrative. For example, when the NFL fined Houston Texans stars Joe Mixon and Will Anderson Jr. for postgame comments that were thought to be critical of the officiating following the Divisional Round of the playoffs, fans were not happy.
And neither were Mixon and Anderson, who made it clear that they would be appealing the $25,000 fines.
On February 18, those fines were officially overturned and rescinded, per multiple sources including KPRC 2 NFL insider Aaron Wilson, ESPN Texans reporter DJ Bien-Aime and NFL insider Dianna Russini (The Athletic).
“Both Joe Mixon and Will Anderson win their appeals of a $25K fine for criticizing officiating after the Texans’ playoff loss to the Chiefs, per source,” Russini reported on X.
Wilson and Bien-Aime also shared a screenshot of Mixon’s official letter from NFL hearing officer Chris Palmer, which read:
Reviewing Comments of Texans’ Joe Mixon & Will Anderson Jr. Following Chiefs Playoff Matchup
Anderson’s comments were a little more obvious than Mixon’s, but apparently the rising star edge rusher received his money back too — adding up to $50,000 in overturned fines.
“We knew it was going to be us versus the refs going into this game,” Anderson told reporters while speaking at his locker on January 18 after the Texans fell to the Chiefs.
Mixon hinted at something similar, but did not go quite as far.
“Everybody know how it is, playing up here [at Arrowhead Stadium],” the veteran running back said on January 18. “You can never leave it into the refs’ hands. But, I mean, the whole world see what it is, bro. It is what it is… It’s all good, though.”
Later, Mixon was also publicly critical of the NFL’s decision to fine him, especially since they initially stated that they penalized him for a social media post from former NFL wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
“I’m getting fined by the @nfl for what someone else said,” Mixon wrote on X at the time. “What’s next? I get fined by them for Connor McDavid cross checking an opponent [in] a @nhl game! 🤦🏽♂️”
Continuing in a follow-up post: “So let me get this straight NFL fines me 25k for something I didn’t even say. Call them out for it, and they 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. Cold 🌎.”
It’s unclear if Mixon was fined multiple times for this interaction, or if the original $25,000 fine was just updated with the correct quote.
Eagles’ Super Bowl Win Calmed Chiefs’ Referee Narrative, But Is Unlikely to End It
Unfortunately, this referee complaint is likely here to stay, at least until the Chiefs miss out on a Super Bowl or two.
The Philadelphia Eagles’ title run should calm this narrative for some time, but the conspiracies theories will start back up next year after the first big penalty decision that goes the Chiefs’ way.
That’s just the way things go when you’re the team to beat, and Kansas City is still that franchise in the AFC — and potentially, overall. Refunding player fines won’t change that, it only admits that the league was wrong to fine said players in the first place.
