The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Browns sign ‘remorseful’ Hunt
GM: Former South grad, Chiefs back on ‘zero-tolerance’ policy
Former Willoughby South High and Kansas City Chiefs star running back Kareem Hunt is getting a second chance, and he is getting it with his hometown Browns.
Hunt, cut by the Kansas City
Chiefs on Nov. 30 when a video surfaced of him pushing and kicking a woman in the hallway of a Cleveland hotel in February of 2018, was signed by the Browns to a one-year deal on Feb. 11.
“First off, I would like to once again apologize for my actions last year,” Hunt said in a statement. “What I did was wrong and inexcusable. That is not the man I was raised to be, and I’ve
learned a great deal from that experience and certainly should have been more truthful about it after the fact.
“I’m extremely grateful that (Browns general manager) John Dorsey, (Browns owners) Dee and Jimmy Haslam and the Cleveland Browns organization are granting me the opportunity to earn their trust and represent their organization in the best way possible on and off the field. I am committed to following the necessary steps to learn and to be a better and healthier person from this situation.
“I also understand the expectations that the Browns have clearly laid out and that I have to earn my way back to the NFL. I’m a work in progress as a person, but I’m committed to taking advantage of the support systems that I have in place to become the best and healthier version of myself.”
Hunt, who led the NFL with 1,327 rushing yards in 2017, was put on the commissioner’s exempt list the day the Chiefs cut him, which means he could not be with a team or attend games while the league was investigating the incident. How many games Hunt might be suspended in 2019 is still being determined by the NFL.
“There is an ongoing investigation,” league spokesman Brian McCarthy said in an email response after the
Browns signed Hunt. “The team understands he is subject to league discipline.”
The Browns know there could be public relations fallout from signing Hunt, but Dorsey, who drafted Hunt in the third round for the Chiefs in 2017 when Dorsey was the GM in Kansas City, believes Hunt has learned his lesson. He also said Hunt will be on a “zero tolerance” policy.
“I think we’re all appalled by (the video),” Dorsey said at a news conference in Berea . “It’s an egregious act. We all understand that. But after doing our research, extensive research, analyzing the situation, we came to the conclusion that, you know what, I am willing to help a man with a sec-
ond chance moving forward to be a better person, and that’s all you can ask for in society, and that’s all I’m trying to do.
“He is truly remorseful. He has taken steps to seek professional counseling with regards to trying to become a better person moving forward.”
Dorsey said he did not reach out to the victim in the video in his research.
Hunt has undergone alcohol and anger management counseling since being released by the Chiefs.
Nick Chubb, Duke Johnson and Hunt potentially will form one of the best backfields in the NFL once Hunt is cleared to play. Chubb rushed for 996 yards as a rookie in 2018 despite not becoming a starter until the seventh game. Johnson could end up being the odd man out. Dontrell Hilliard is also in the backfield.
“I think Duke Johnson is a fine football player,” Dorsey said. “But what it does is you have three very quality, really four quality individuals. You have three veterans on there now.
I don’t think it makes (Johnson) expendable yet. What you have to do is you have to go back and research your options and see moving forward what’s best for the organization.”
Hunt played in 11 games last season before the Chiefs cut him. He has rushed for 2,151 yards on 453 attempts (4.7 average) with 15 touchdowns, while adding 79 receptions for 833 yards with 10 touchdowns in 27 career games.