The NFL is still out of its league when it comes to discipline for players with troubles off the field. Kareem Hunt was the latest…
The NFL is still out of its league when it comes to discipline for players with troubles off the field.
Kareem Hunt was the latest example of the NFL’s reactionary approach toward serious matters, despite league efforts to make improvements following its mishandling of Ray Rice’s domestic violence case in 2014.
From Greg Hardy to Mychal Kendricks to Reuben Foster, the NFL has taken different approaches on a case-by-case basis when players misbehave, drawing backlash from fans for what critics view as inconsistency and, at times, pandering to public perception.
Hunt, the former Kansas City running back, was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list Friday after TMZ released a video showing him pushing and kicking a woman during a February scuffle at a Cleveland hotel. The video’s jolt across the sports world accelerated a case that had been effectively put on the backburner for both the club and the league, with Hunt losing his job the same day — a sharp fall for an elite playmaker for one of the most explosive offenses in football.
The Chiefs said Hunt had lied to them about the scuffle, an assertion Hunt acknowledged in an interview with ESPN on Sunday. But authorities never charged Hunt with a crime and the league’s internal investigation — under guidance implemented after the lengthy legal saga involving the former Ravens running back Rice — stalled when NFL officials couldn’t get in touch with the woman.
