The co-defendant in a lawsuit against Kansas City Chiefs star Rashee Rice has been ordered to pay almost $3million over their 2024 street racing crash in Dallas.
Theodore Knox, one of Rice’s college teammates at Southern Methodist University, was deemed by Texas judge Kim Bailey Phipps to have been ‘grossly negligent’ after the pair lost control of their cars and caused a six-vehicle crash on a central highway on March 30.
Phipps issued a default judgement of nearly $2.88m against Knox, which will be awarded to Kathryn Kuykendall, one of the victims in the case.
Kuykendall has been granted the seven-figure sum for punitive damages plus costs for medical expenses, lost earnings and non-economic damages.
Knox was not present for the hearing and no attorney was listed for him in court records, according to ESPN. Rice’s case is scheduled to go to trial June 9.
In July of last year, the Chiefs wide receiver was sentenced to 30 days in jail and five years’ probation for his role in the multicar crash after racing Knox in a Lamborghini. He was also ordered to pay $115,482 to the victims to cover medical expenses.
Rashee Rice’s co-defendant Theodore Knox (pictured) has been ordered to pay $3m over their 2024 street racing crash in Dallas
Chiefs star Rice received a 30-day jail sentence and five years’ probation over the crash
He was filmed fleeing the scene and later pleaded guilty to two third-degree felony charges – collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway causing bodily injury.
Rice had already been hit with three lawsuits prior to Kuykendall taking legal action, which totaled more than $10m, while Knox was issued two other default judgements for over $3m.
The Kansas City player was hit with a six-game suspension by the NFL, which ended in October. Knox, who also received a 30-day jail sentence and five years’ probation, was suspended by SMU.
Earlier this year Rice was the subject of a separate NFL investigation into allegations of assault made by his ex-girlfriend.
Dacoda Jones, the mother of his children, filed a lawsuit against the wide receiver earlier this year, accusing him of repeatedly assaulting her throughout their relationship, even when she was pregnant.
However, the NFL concluded this month that Rice ‘has not engaged in conduct that violates the personal conduct policy’.
The investigation into the allegations has now been concluded and Rice will not face any disciplinary action at this time.
Knox, one of Rice’s college teammates at Southern Methodist University, was deemed by Texas judge Kim Bailey Phipps to have been ‘grossly negligent’
Rice was hit with a six-game suspension by the NFL over the high-speed, multi-car crash
Earlier this year the Kansas City player was accused of domestic violence by his ex-girlfriend
‘Mr. Rice wants to thank the NFL for their thorough investigation, and looks forward to the start of the 2026-27 NFL season,’ a statement from his attorney Sean Lindsey read.
Jones alleged in a lawsuit filed in February that the Super Bowl winner had previously grabbed, choked, strangled, pushed, thrown, scratched, hit and headbutted her.
The mother of Rice’s two children claimed that he strangled her at their home in Texas in December 2023 ‘following an escalation in violent behavior.’ The lawsuit claimed that the wide receiver then continued to assault her until they eventually split in July 2025.
Rice was also accused in the complaint of throwing objects, destroying property, punching walls and breaking furniture, as well as locking Jones out in the middle of the night. It was claimed that a number of these incidents took place while Jones was pregnant.
As a result of the alleged abuse, Jones claimed she has endured multiple physical injuries, as well as ‘significant pain and suffering.’
Jones also uploaded 14 pictures and a lengthy statement on Instagram a month prior to her filing, showing cuts and bruises over her body, parts of her home trashed and her clothes ripped apart.
Dacoda Jones uploaded 14 pictures and a lengthy statement on Instagram a month before she filed a lawsuit against Rice
While she did not specifically name Kansas City Chiefs star in her post, it was interpreted as an allegation against him.
Jones’s statement at the time read: ‘I’m so tired of keeping quiet I’m so tired of protecting his image. I’ve been through too much in a span of 8 years and I’ve had ENOUGH!
‘I’ve dealt with abuse for years, me and this man decided to break up a couple months ago and since then it’s been nothing but hell.
‘He’s very controlling, there’s been times he’s came to my new home broken my door, there’s been times when he would put his hands on me while I was pregnant even had the audacity to lock me outside all night in ten degree weather because he got caught cheating.’
