A court has issued a default judgment of $2.88 million against Theodore Knox, the co-defendant in one of the lawsuits against Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice. Knox did not appear for the hearing, and he had not listed an attorney in the court records, according to reports.
Judge Kim Bailey Phipps found Knox, a Southern Methodist University teammate of Rashee Rice, to have been “grossly negligent” after the two lost control of their vehicles and caused a six-vehicle collision on a Texas highway on March 30.
Rashee Rice was driving his Lamborghini in Dallas when he crashed into a wall, setting off a series of events that involved Knox’s Corvette and four other cars.
After facing a total of eight felony charges, Rice was sentenced to serve 30 days in prison, five years of probation, and pay $115,482 to the victims to cover medical expenses. The judge said he could serve the 30 days in prison at any time during the five-year probationary period. Knox pleaded guilty to a collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway, causing bodily injury. The judge also sentenced him to 30 days in jail and five years of probation.
Judge awards $2.88 million in damages after Theodore Knox failed to appear in court
Wednesday’s ruling awarded one of the victims, Kathryn Kuykendall, nearly $2.88 million, including punitive damages plus costs for medical expenses, lost earnings and non-economic damages. The court has scheduled Rashee Rice’s trial in the Kuykendall case for June 9.
“We’ve asked the court to grant the default judgment because we’re ethically required to as a matter of diligence,” Kuykendall’s attorney, Marc Lenahan, said in a statement to ESPN. “Personally, it pleases us that Teddy hasn’t made further mistakes that we’re aware of. If a team gives him a chance to prove that he’s walking the right path now, we’ll be rooting for him.”
Two additional victims in the same case received default judgments against Theodore Knox in January, with Irina Gromova receiving $1.99 million and Edvard Petrovskiy receiving $1.63 million in total damages.
Rashee Rice’s legal troubles are far from over
Dacoda Jones is also suing Rashee Rice, claiming he repeatedly abused her, including choking her in December 2023. According to a court document, Jones’ lawyers claimed that despite four visits to Rice’s Dallas-area home, they were unable to serve him with the lawsuit.
The NFL suspended Rice, 25, for six games during the previous season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy following the crash. However, the league concluded that “there was insufficient evidence to support a finding that he violated the personal conduct policy” in the abuse case.