Travis Kelce is under fire after sporting a T-shirt supporting his suspended Kansas City Chiefs teammate, Rashee Rice.
Rice is currently serving a six-game suspension over his involvement in a March 2024 car accident in Dallas that left multiple people injured. In July, Rice, 25, was sentenced to five years’ probation and 30 days in jail after pleading guilty to two third-degree felony charges: collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury.
Both Kelce, 35, and teammate Tyquan Thornton were pictured wearing custom tees emblazoned with photos of Rice and the words “Free 4” — a reference to Rice’s jersey number — on Sunday, September 14, ahead of the Chiefs’ Super Bowl LIX rematch against the Philadelphia Eagles at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium.
However, attorney Marc Lenahan, who represents Kathryn Kuykendall, one of the people injured in the March 2024 collision, was not impressed by the Chiefs players’ clothing choice.
“I respect that Kelce and Thornton support their teammate, but the ‘gym teacher’ needs to talk with the history teacher,” Lenahan told TMZ on Monday, September 15, referencing Kelce and Taylor Swift’s recent engagement announcement, in which the couple wrote via social media, “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”
According to Lenahan, “Rashee isn’t Nelson Mandela or Pepe Mujica, men who fought for what they believed in.”
He continued, “Free Rashee? He already thinks he’s getting away scot-free. He’s not paid a single cent of the $1.1 million judgment he already owes our client, who is living anything but pain-free,” referring to an April civil settlement between Rice and Kuykendall, who said she sustained injuries when Rice’s rented Lamborghini struck the Uber she was traveling in.
“Talk [and] T-shirts are cheap,” Lenahan said. “If Kelce and Thornton truly believed in Rashee, they’d loan him the money to pay his victims. But since they won’t do that, maybe they can at least be better role models by wearing a T-shirt with an important public service warning: ‘Flee 4!’”
Us Weekly has contacted representatives for Kelce and Thornton via the Kansas City Chiefs communications team for comment.
In August, Rice was suspended for the first six games of the new NFL season, including Sunday’s game against the Eagles. The wide receiver is eligible to return to action during the Chiefs’ October 19 game against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Following his criminal sentencing in July, Rice apologized for his role in the incident. Prosecutors said he drove 119 mph during the March 2024 incident and hit other vehicles.
“Last March, I was involved in a high-speed accident in Dallas,” Rice said in a statement through his attorney. “There have been a lot of sleepless nights thinking about the damages that my actions caused, and I will continue working within my means to make sure that everyone impacted will be made whole.”
The NFL star added, “I urge everyone to mind the speed limit, drive safe and drive smart. Last and certainly not least, I am profoundly sorry for the physical damages to person and property. I fully apologize for the harm I caused to innocent drivers and their families.”
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