Earlier this week, the NFL released some extremely controversial news. The Cleveland Browns announced that they are going to sign former Kansas City Chiefs running back, Kareem Hunt. Kareem Hunt is a very talented running back, as he lead the league in rushing yards during the 2017-2018 NFL season. Despite the talent Hunt has, this is a very questionable time to sign him; that is because he is currently on the NFL’s Commissioner’s Exempt List awaiting discipline and a suspension next year as the NFL continues to investigate his potential assault charges.
The above video is the video TMZ released around the last week of November of 2018 of Kareem Hunt aggressively attacking a woman in the hall of a hotel. This was determined to have taken place on February 2018. Shortly after the video being released, The Kansas City Chiefs released Kareem Hunt from their roster on November 30. When the Chiefs released Kareem Hunt, they released a statement why they did:
“Earlier this year, we were made aware of an incident involving running back Kareem Hunt. At that time, the National Football League and law enforcement initiated investigations into the issue. As part of our internal discussions with Kareem, several members of our management team spoke directly to him. Kareem was not truthful in those discussions. The video released today confirms that fact. We are releasing Kareem immediately.”
There is a lot of controversy around the Kareem Hunt case itself. For example, there are reports and leaked footage of the Hotel’s camera that the reason why Kareem Hunt got so mad at the woman he attacked was because she was throwing racial slurs at him. Despite this, it still does not excuse the fact that Kareem Hunt got way to aggressive towards her -like that last kick he threw at her. On top of this situation, it has also been reported that Kareem Hunt has assaulted a man at an Ohio resort and another man at a nightclub.
Overall, I think the Kareem Hunt case points out a major flaw in the NFL: Its management of discipline. Kareem Hunt so far is expected to be able to play next season and will be suspended for 6 games for the 3 potential assault charges – which he as acknowledged and apologized for. Only 6 games; as someone who loves to watch NFL football, this is a complete joke. To put this in comparison with another case, Tom Brady – who is the New England Patriots quarterback – was suspended 4 games in the 2015-2016 NFL season for allegedly ordering Patriots employees to deflate footballs to help the Patriots beat the Indianapolis Colts in the playoffs. The NFL only suspended Kareem Hunt 2 more games for assaulting 3 different people compared to Tom Brady for cheating – even though his involvement was questionable at best – in a football game. There is a major problem with how the NFL administers discipline and it is effecting the safety of its players and the people around them.
Despite my issues with how Kareem Hunt’s situation was handled, he has been given a second chance to succeed in the league and I wish him the best. In my opinion, the Cleveland Browns were the best team he could of gone to for his second opportunity and is because of one man: General Manger John Dorsey. John Dorsey has a reputation of being able to help players with a troubled pass be able to turn a new leaf. As a football fan, nothing is worse then watching a player succumb to his inner demons, so I hope John Dorsey can help Kareem Hunt expel his inner demons.
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