Joe Mixon to boycott some media after road rage trial acquittal

Days after Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon was found not guilty of aggravated menacing in a Hamilton County court, he refused to discuss the case and shunned several media outlets. 

Mixon has not addressed reporters since the end of the 2022 season and declined to speak on Sunday, according to ESPN.

The running back followed that up by then announcing he would not speak to reporters from Sports Illustrated, the Cincinnati Enquirer, Pro Football Network and ESPN, effectively boycotting the outlets.

When Mixon was asked why that was, he responded “it’s not happening” and pointed to behavior he felt had been disrespectful. 

He would only say “you know how” when reporters tried to decipher what he had felt had been disrespectful toward him.

Mixon has had an interesting 2023 off the field. 

In April, authorities charged the Bengals’ running back with misdemeanor aggravated menacing following a Jan. 21 encounter in which police alleged that Mixon had pulled a gun on a woman during a road rage incident and said he should shoot her in the face. 

A judge in the case ruled that prosecutors failed to prove the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt.

If he had been convicted Mixon could have faced up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. 

“The standard of reasonable doubt is the highest standard that we have in our justice system, as it should be,” Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge Gwen Bender said during the ruling on Thursday. “After a careful review of all of the evidence presented at trial, including the stipulations and the testimony presented today, I cannot say the city sustained its burden.”

Mixon is also facing a civil lawsuit after a teenager, who was formerly the next-door neighbor to the NFL star, was shot in the foot while playing with NERF guns in Mixon’s backyard. 

The Bengals’ second-round pick in 2017 made 14 starts during the 2022 season and rushed for 1,255 yards from scrimmage and recorded nine touchdowns.