A week later, former Bengals running back Joe Mixon is in hot water with the NFL and fined — for comments he didn’t say. As it turns out, the comments were actually said by former Bengals wideout T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

The NFL apparently takes criticism of its referees so seriously that you can get fined for criticizing remarks you didn’t actually say. Texans running back Joe Mixon learned that lesson the hard way when the NFL issued him a $25,

The Bengals traded Mixon to the Texans in March in exchange for the 224th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Mixon ran for 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns this season. He also had 36 catches for 309 yards and one touchdown.