Newsstand News & Rumors

10:56am: ESPN’s Lisa Salters interviewed Hunt from his Kansas City home this morning, which Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk summarizes. Hunt acknowledges lying to the Chiefs about the incident and said that he is ashamed of his actions during the February altercation. He said he never met his alleged victim before the night in question and has not had any contact with her since. He also confirmed that the NFL never broached the incident with him.

Salters did not ask Hunt about the alleged June incident.

08:46am: In addition to the disturbing incident in February that compelled the Chiefs to cut star running back Kareem Hunt, Hunt was also allegedly involved in a separate matter in which he is said to have punched a man in the face at an Ohio resort, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. That second incident took place in June, and the league was investigating that altercation even before the video of the February brawl was released.

Rapoport says that Hunt could therefore be handed a longer suspension than what was originally reported. As Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com writes, and as we wrote yesterday, Hunt can expect a minimum six-game ban for the February incident. If the NFL finds enough evidence to indicate that Hunt took part in another violent act — and according to Rapoport, the league believes it does have sufficient evidence — then Hunt could be banned for even longer.

Rapoport also writes that Hunt would consider simply admitting wrongdoing and serving a potential NFL suspension as soon as possible rather than waiting on the Commissioner Exempt list while the league finishes its investigation. The problem with that, of course, is that Hunt cannot serve a suspension if he is not on a team, so if he goes unclaimed on waivers — the deadline for clubs to place a waiver claim on him is 4pm ET tomorrow — he will need to wait until someone is willing to sign him before the suspension clock starts running.

Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports says that some league executives do believe that Hunt will be claimed on waivers, and the consensus is that he will be playing in 2019 one way or another. La Canfora adds that the league will schedule a formal interview with Hunt — which it did not do following the initial police reports back in February — and will reach back out to the alleged victim and other witnesses. The NFL did not receive cooperation from those parties during its original investigation, and as we already learned, it was denied the video footage that was recently released by TMZ.

Breer suggests that the league did its due diligence in trying to obtain that footage, and he and Rapoport detail the NFL’s efforts in the pieces linked above. However, it is certainly curious that the league did not at least reach out to Hunt and instead relied on the Chiefs’ interview with him, and Nate Taylor of The Athletic reports that the league actually told Kansas City to stop trying to obtain the video once it began its investigation.

As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, it makes sense that the league would take that step, as it has exclusive jurisdiction over off-field, offseason matters of personal conduct. But the fact that TMZ was able to get the video and the NFL could not — and that the league did not get out in front of the matter by acknowledging that it was not getting the type of cooperation it needed to thoroughly investigate — will once again subject the league to public scrutiny.

Hunt could still face charges from either incident, and it will be interesting to see whether either of the alleged victims elects to file charges now that these incidents are firmly in the national spotlight.

When the NFL’s investigation concludes, the Chiefs expect the team’s former Pro Bowl running back Kareem Hunt will receive a six-game suspension, The Athletic’s Nate Taylor writes. Taylor also notes the investigation is not expected to conclude until the offseason. 

On Friday, a video was released by TMZ Sports that showed Hunt shoving a woman to the ground and kicking her during an incident at a Cleveland hotel in February. After the security footage was made public, the Chiefs released the second-year back, who led the league in rushing yards in 2017.

Neither the NFL, nor the Chiefs, saw the footage before it was released, the league said in a statement Friday night. Following the release, the Chiefs said the events depicted in the video differed from what Hunt disclosed to them at the time of their investigation. According to Taylor, Hunt told the team, “I never left the (hotel) room. I didn’t do a thing.” Taylor adds that if Hunt would’ve been truthful, he more than likely would not have been released:

“Had Hunt told the truth in February, the Chiefs, according to team sources, would have pursued every option available to them through the league to ensure the possibility of him remaining on the team’s roster.”

One team source also told Taylor that Hunt probably cost himself $20 MM in the form of a multiyear extension with the Chiefs, which was expected to be discussed following the 2018 season.

The six-game suspension would be the same punishment that Ezekiel Elliott received following his incidents last year. One difference between that case and this one is that there is footage to document Hunt’s part. On Friday, Hunt was placed on the Commissioner Exempt list, prohibiting from partaking in practice or playing in games.

As expected, the NFL announced Friday night that it was placing Chiefs starting running back Kareem Hunt on the Commissioner Exempt list, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network tweets. 

Hunt will not count against the Chiefs’ 53-man roster but will be paid. He cannot practice, play in or attend games with the team while on this list.

This outcome was a foregone conclusion after a video surfaced Friday of the second-year back pushing a 19-year-old woman and kicking her while she was on the floor in an incident at a Cleveland hotel this past February.

Hunt will stay on the list as the NFL investigates the recently surfaced video and decides on the repercussions. He will miss the week’s game against the Raiders and could miss the remainder of the season and playoffs, depending on the length of the investigation, which will include a review of the information that became public on Friday, Rapoport tweets.

According to Rapoport (Twitter link), neither the NFL, nor the Chiefs, had seen the video until today. The league reportedly made several attempts to acquire the footage but was denied by the hotel, which said corporate policy would only allow it to release the video to law enforcement. The Cleveland Police Department would then not provide it to the league.

The NFL’s statement was a brief one:

The NFL has placed Kareem Hunt of the Kansas City Chiefs on the Commissioner Exempt list, and as a result, he may not practice, play or attend games. The NFL’s investigation, which began immediately following the incident in February, will include a review of the new information that was made public today.

Earlier this week, former 49ers linebacker and recent Redskins signing Reuben Foster was placed on the exempt list after he was arrested for alleged domestic violence, his third arrest in 2018, late last week. Other notable names to be placed on the list include Adrian Peterson in 2014 following child-abuse allegations and Greg Hardy for domestic violence. Peterson missed the rest of the season before returning to the field in 2015 and Hardy’s career was essentially ended.

The Chiefs sent Kareem Hunt home from the team facility on Friday after disturbing new footage of his February brawl emerged, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com tweets. From here, Graziano believes that Hunt will be placed on the commissioner’s exempt list pending a final decision, though determination hasn’t been made just yet. 

Hunt got into an ugly brawl in a Cleveland hotel last year, but the full details of the event were not made public until Friday afternoon. The leaked security footage shows Hunt in a screaming match with a 19-year-old girl and kicking her while she is down on the floor.

The commissioner’s exempt list would effectively serve as a paid suspension for Hunt. Since Hunt was not arrested or suspended in the wake of the incident, the NFL will likely park the running back on the sidelines while they conduct a more thorough investigation. Of course, many are wondering why the NFL did not obtain the video footage sooner, particularly after the Ray Rice incident of 2014.

Rice was initially suspended two games when he was indicted on aggravated assault charges in 2014. The league, however, did not see the full video, which was later released showing the Ravens running back hitting his now wife in the face in an elevator. After receiving national attention, the NFL moved to indefinitely suspend the back and revised its policy toward domestic violence.

The NFL’s leading rusher as a rookie in 2017, Hunt currently ranks third in the league in offensive touchdowns with 14. While an investigation is underway, the AFC West division leaders will likely rely heavily on veteran Spencer Ware.

In February, Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt was involved in a skirmish with a 19-year-old woman. On Friday, disturbing video evidence of the incident was released by TMZ. 

Security footage from a Cleveland hotel shows Hunt arguing and shoving the woman, who claims that she was ejected from Hunt’s room after refusing to have intercourse with one of the running back’s friends. The woman responded by striking Hunt and friends moved quickly to hold him back. Hunt broke free, accidentally knocked one of his mates into the woman, and sent them both flying into a wall. The woman appeared dazed by the impact, and Hunt kicked her while she was on the ground.

When police came to the hotel, Hunt and the accuser had different accounts of what happened. While she says that she was kicked out of Hunt’s room for refusing to sleep with one of his buddies, Hunt claims that she was asked to leave and retaliated with a racial slur.

No arrests were made at the time, but the shocking footage is likely to result in some serious consequences for Hunt. The Chiefs have only just learned about the video, but it’s hard to imagine Hunt being allowed to suit up for Sunday’s game against the Raiders. Beyond that, Hunt’s status for the remainder of the season may be in jeopardy.

The Chiefs were aware of the incident, but apparently only saw the footage on Friday when it was made public. During training camp, CEO Clark Hunt addressed the matter and clearly did not have all of the details.

“The team is made up of a bunch of young men,” Hunt said. “They’re not always going to make the best decisions, but we have a strong support system both with the coaching staff and with our player development department that works with young guys and talks to them about the situations that they want to be in. Kareem is a young man, second year in the league, obviously had a very big year on the field last year. I’m sure he learned some lessons this offseason and hopefully won’t be in those kinds of situations in the future.”

Hunt, 23, led the league with 1,327 rushing yards last year while adding eight scores on the ground and three through the air. He also caught 53 passes for 455 yards, positioning him as one of the best running backs in the NFL. This year, Hunt is averaging a solid 4.6 yards per carry with 14 touchdowns in total.

The Chiefs lead the AFC with a 9-2 record and can clinch a playoff berth with a win this weekend. The Chargers aren’t far behind at 8-4, but the Chiefs can effectively clinch the division if they beat the Raiders and the Bolts lose to the Steelers.

If Hunt is suspended, the Chiefs will likely turn to Spencer Ware as their primary tailback. Damien Williams and Darrel Williams are also on the roster to serve as backups.