Travis Kelce, wearing a ‘Free 4’ t-shirt, has stirred controversy after showing public backing for suspended Kansas City Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice.
Before facing the Eagles, Kelce and teammate Tyquan Thornton warmed up in shirts featuring Rice’s face and the slogan “Free 4.” The move immediately drew attention, given Rice’s current suspension.
Rice is serving a six-game ban after pleading guilty to two felonies from a March 2024 street-racing crash in Dallas. He lost control of a rented Lamborghini at extreme speed and injured several people in the crash.
The Chiefs have struggled without him, starting 0-2 for the first time since 2014. Rice will also miss games against the Giants, Ravens, Jaguars, and Lions before returning in Week 7.
Head coach Andy Reid defended his players. He said Kelce and Thornton “love the kid [Rice] and want him to feel part of it in their own way. I really don’t think it’s anything more than that.”
Travis Kelce ‘Free 4’ controversy
Marc Lenahan, the attorney for victim Kathryn Kuykendall, slammed Kelce and Thornton for their choice of shirt.
“I respect that Kelce and Thornton support their teammate, but the ‘gym teacher’ needs to talk with the history teacher,” Lenahan said, referencing the caption on Kelce and Taylor Swift’s recent engagement post.
“Rashee isn’t Nelson Mandela or Pepe Mujica, men who fought for what they believed in,” he continued. “There is evidence that Rashee was going 119 mph in a $1,749 per day Lambo rental on a highway on Easter weekend.”
“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.”
Rice was accused of racing another car at more than 100 mph before smashing into several vehicles and fleeing the scene. He later accepted probation, a short jail term, and the NFL suspension.
Lenahan added: “Talk & t-shirts are cheap. 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!’”
What began as a gesture of support has left Kelce at the centre of a storm, with Rice’s suspension still weighing heavily on the Chiefs.
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