Rice's attorney said the Chiefs player is cooperating with authorities
Former NFL star Keyshawn Johnson was upset with Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice as the Super Bowl champion was allegedly linked to a car crash in Dallas and fled the scene.
Johnson spoke about the situation on Fox Sports’ "Undisputed" and said he worked with Rice before the former SMU standout was drafted and knows that he knows better than to get involved in any kind of trouble like that.
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Keyshawn Johnson of the Dallas Cowboys laughs during training camp on July 31, 2004, at River Ridge Field in Oxnard, California. (Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
"First of all, this is unfortunate for Rashee because I know him and he’s old enough to know better. So, I’m p---ed at him," Johnson said. "I’ve already texted him. He’s not gonna respond to me because my text was not nice. I spent plenty of time with him last year before the draft, doing the draft process, the whole thing here in Los Angeles, and in Dallas as well, to get him to understand that life is getting ready to start. It’s gonna be different now.
"Coming out into the draft, he had a little red flag here, little red flag there. He wasn’t the squeakiest, cleanest guy going, which is probably why he fell to the second round instead of the late first. Went into a great situation in Kansas City – a great environment. They know how to handle situations that may be a little rocky coming in."
Johnson pointed to the Henry Ruggs situation. The former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver was sentenced to 3-10 years in prison over a drunken deadly crash in 2021.
Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice before the Denver Broncos game on Oct 12, 2023, at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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"But I’m genuinely mad at him because he knows better and I know he knows better. I understand you want to be with the homies and you wanna hang out – I get all of that. But everybody should know better.
"Because in the end, all it takes is this (snaps finger). It just takes that. All you gotta do a couple years ago is look at Henry Ruggs. I knew him too. I tried to tell him the same things. You can’t be… it’s different now. You ain’t gonna get that pass the way you would in college in those certain situations."
Johnson said he didn’t know if Rice was driving or not but was "hoping someone stole his car."
"But if he’s involved in it, it’s the stupidest thing that he could ever be involved in. Let alone driving fast cars, and racing somebody is the stupidest thing ever, man.
Rashee Rice of the Kansas City Chiefs before the Minnesota Vikings game at U.S. Bank Stadium on Oct. 8, 2023, in Minneapolis. (David Berding/Getty Images)
Dallas police had been searching for Rice in its investigation into the crash that left four people injured.
State Sen. Royce West, an attorney for Rice, said later Monday that his client was cooperating with authorities. West said Rice "will take all necessary steps to address the situation responsibly."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Ryan Gaydos is a senior editor for Fox News Digital.
