Scary pre-draft incident involving Rashee Rice could come back to haunt Chiefs WR

Bad news stories seem to come in threes for Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice.

First, Rice was involved in a multi-car pileup while allegedly street racing his sports car on a Dallas highway. He picked up eight felony charges for that stunt, which landed someone in the hospital.

Second, Rice found himself under investigation by Dallas police again because he allegedly assaulted a man he'd lured to night club. No charges have been filed there but the investigation is ongoing.

Now third, Rice's checkered past is being dragged out of the shadows and it's not going to win him any leniency from the NFL.

Rashee Rice was allegedly involved in a shooting at SMU

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported via multiple sources that red flags were raised before the 2023 NFL Draft because Rice was allegedly involved in the shooting of a fellow SMU athlete's car.

"Per multiple sources, multiple teams learned during the pre-draft process about an alleged incident involving Rice while he was at SMU. Rice believed former SMU basketball player Kendric Davis was seeing Rice’s girlfriend. Rice and some of his friends, per the specific information gathered by at least one team, went to an SMU basketball game. Rice (or someone with him), per the specific information gathered by at least one team, fired multiple bullets into the empty car belonging to Kendric Davis."

According to Florio, authorities were not involved in the situation. It went unreported. Even so, the Chiefs, along with every other NFL team, were aware of the incident but chose to draft Rice anyways.

There is no way to spin that story in a positive light. Rice has a concerning collection of incidents on his record that paint a problematic picture. Recklessness on his part looks like a trend rather than a rarity.

Rice wouldn't face direct consequences for the alleged shooting at this point, but it could still impact his future. Florio pointed out that the NFL is within their rights to enhance discipline for players "with a prior history of misconduct" even if it occurred before they entered the NFL. Unless all 32 NFL teams were fed a fabrication, this could be a real problem.

It looks like the NFL will wait for Rice's legal situation to clear up before handing out a punishment, potentially a lengthy suspension. His actions before and after the crash in Dallas could become a big factor in figuring that all out.