Opinion: Kareem Hunt signing shows hitting women is forgivable in NFL, but kneeling is not
Itâs a business decision. On that part we probably all agree.
Kareem Hunt is a gifted football player. That's why the Cleveland Browns signed him. The Browns think the running back will help them win.
You donât have to like it. And many of you probably donât.
I donât blame you. The video showing Hunt shoving and kicking an acquaintance in a Cleveland hotel last February is unsettling. Itâs hard to get past that.
Just as itâs hard to get past the message this signing sent: that violence against women is forgivable, while kneeling during the national anthem is not.
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Countless football fans feel that way today. Because they understand Colin Kaepernick is still good enough to play in the NFL.
Whatever you might feel about Kaepernickâs decision to protest what he considered police brutality and racial injustice by kneeling during the anthem, news of Huntâs signing makes it hard to argue about what scares the league and teams more.
At the very least, the league might have asked its franchises to wait a while longer before reaching out to Hunt. The video surfaced barely two months ago.
In fact, when the video surfaced in December, the NFL placed the Kansas City Chiefs star on the commissionerâs exempt list. Shortly after, the Chiefs released him.
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Hunt was never arrested for the incident, which is puzzling if youâve seen the video. Yet that is beside the point. The evidence of violence is there. Enough for Kansas City to move on.
The league is still investigating what happened last February in that Cleveland hotel. And itâs likely that when the investigation concludes, Hunt will be penalized. This could include a suspension.
The Browns are aware of that. They said so in the statement:
âWe fully understand and respect the complexity of questions and issues in signing a player with Kareemâs history and do not condone his actions. Given what we know about Kareem through our extensive research, we believe he deserves a second chance but certainly with the understanding that he has to go through critical and essential steps to become a performing member of this organization, aside from what the NFL determines from their ongoing investigation.
âWe fully understand that Kareem is subject to discipline by the NFL. Here at the Browns, there is a detailed plan with expectations laid out that he understands and must follow, because any similar incident will not be tolerated.â
The teamâs general manager, John Dorsey, who drafted Hunt while serving as Kansas Cityâs GM, explained his reasoning for signing Hunt this way:
"There were two important factors: one is that Kareem took full responsibility for his egregious actions and showed true remorse and secondly, just as importantly, he is undergoing and is committed to necessary professional treatment and a plan that has been clearly laid out.â
Left out, of course, is Huntâs ability to make defenders miss. His speed. His big-play talent. And how he might fit with the Browns' promising young pieces on offense, including budding star quarterback, Baker Mayfield.
If you think the real reason is anything other than this, you donât pay attention to the NFL.
Obviously, the NFL gave its blessing to the signing, or it wouldnât have happened. As for the nod to second chances, well, in a vacuum they are fine, even critical in a society comprised of imperfect human beings.
In that sense, I donât begrudge anyoneâs second chance, nor have any reason to doubt the sincerity of Hunt's call for forgiveness on Monday:
" ... 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 John Dorsey, Dee and Jimmy Haslam and the Cleveland Browns organization are granting me the opportunity to earn their trust ... I am committed to following the necessary steps to learn and to be a better and healthier person from this situation."
Still, context matters.
If the NFL actually believed the words Dorsey used to justify Huntâs signing, they wouldâve found a way to reach out to the portion of the fan base turned off by Kaepernick. Many of whom, I suspect, will not turn off Browns games next fall.
Or plan boycotts. Or cheer the President if he were to weigh in on Huntâs signing, which I assume he will not.
Dorsey said the Browns "fully understand and respect the complexity of questions and issues in signing a player with Kareem's history.â
And in reading those words, itâs not hard to imagine a general manager making a similar plea regarding Kaepernick.
The NFL is giving Hunt another chance because they know they can sell it. That says plenty, obviously. They had a similar chance to release statements and craft platitudes regarding Kaepernick.
They didnât. And havenât. And likely never will.
That says even more.
Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @shawnwindsor.