A civil lawsuit was filed against Kansas City Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice this week by the mother of Rice’s two children, alleging that he previously assaulted her.
Dacoda Jones, in a civil suit filed Monday in Dallas County, Texas, alleges that Rice caused “severe and permanent injuries” to her between December 2023 and July 2025.
Through attorney Ron Estefan, Jones is seeking monetary damages “over $1 million.”
Rice has not been charged criminally in this matter. The lawsuit does not say whether Jones notified authorities about her allegations.
The Athletic has reached out to Rice via his agents and will update this story if they respond.
The lawsuit alleges that Rice and Jones previously lived together at homes in Victory Park, Texas, and Lee’s Summit, Mo. In the suit, Jones says that Rice strangled her during a December 2023 incident in Victory Park. The lawsuit also alleges that between 2023 and 2025, Rice “grabbed, choked, strangled, pushed, thrown, scratched, hit and headbutted Ms. Jones, as well as hit her with inanimate objects.”
Jones also says in her lawsuit that Rice engaged in other violent behaviors, including “throwing objects, destroying property, punching walls, and breaking furniture, as well as locking her out in the middle of the night.” The lawsuit alleges that many of those incidents took place while Jones was pregnant.
These aren’t the first allegations Jones has made against Rice. Last month, Jones posted photos on Instagram with a bruised lip, leg and arm. Other photographs showed scratches on her face, shoulder and cleavage and additional shots showing property damage, including walls with holes in them.
“I’m so tired of keeping quiet I’m so tired of protecting his image,” Jones wrote in the Instagram post that she later deleted. “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.”
At the time, the Chiefs said they were “in communication with the National Football League” regarding Jones’ Instagram post while otherwise declining to comment on the matter. The Chiefs had no further comment on Wednesday.
In January, a spokesperson for the NFL said, “We have been in contact with the club about the matter, which will be reviewed under the league’s personal conduct policy.”
When reached on Wednesday, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said, “The matter remains under review.”
Rice previously served a six-game suspension at the start of the 2025-26 season after he pleaded guilty in July to two third-degree felony charges dating to a 2024 multi-vehicle car crash in Dallas. Those charges included racing on a highway, causing bodily injury and a collision involving serious bodily injury. Rice was sentenced to five years of deferred probation and 30 days in jail and was required to pay more than $115,000 in restitution to the victims.
Rice returned Oct. 19 against the Las Vegas Raiders and played in eight games for the Chiefs. He’s entering the last year of his rookie contract with K.C.
— Rebecca Tauber contributed to this report.