In the wake of the news that rocked the entire Kanas City Chiefs nation on Friday afternoon regarding All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill and his family, the allegations that emerged were both disturbing and disappointing. Add that to the already-occurring assumptions made without factual evidence by both the local newspaper media and national outlets.
They didn’t have the facts to prove Hill could be innocent. They never even considered that outcome in the first place.
I was told a long time ago to never mix politics and sports.
Sorry, because I’m about to break that rule.
Unfortunately, the NFL, which has always been political in nature, has fallen in line with the national narrative of division. Sports used to be our escape from reality, where we took three hours at a sporting event to hang out with our friends and family rooting for our beloved sports teams, allowing us to avoid the day-to-day grind.
Sadly, that’s not the case anymore.
For this old dog, I simply want to enjoy my sports. I grew up standing for the National Anthem and the athletes on the field I respected and admired – some even became my heroes and friends. I’m a diehard Kansas City Chiefs fan that has been around this team in some capacity for five decades. My roots run deep back to the Hank Stram era to the current Andy Reid time period.
I’ve seen about all you can see away from the field and witnessed events that would shock most of you, but I’ve never wavered in my support that any athlete or American is innocent until proven guilty. The NFL is a good ol’ boys club and sometimes the boys do incredibly stupid things. That doesn’t make it acceptable, but it’s the reality for some instant millionaires.
In the case of Tyreek Hill, and the allegations directed at him and the mother of his son, they cannot be tried in the court of public opinion, nor exploited by headlines intended to get internet clicks, especially when facts are ignored.
Setting aside the initial report in the local newspaper, some of the national headlines were brutal. Clearly, they felt Hill was guilty. They made accusations without reading the complaint. Simply, they assumed he was guilty because of the incident that occurred years ago which (at the time) made him an NFL risk.
As we all know, the Chiefs took a chance on Hill. In doing so, Hill, to this point, has walked the right line and become the game’s most exciting player. From all accounts, he’s done everything within that time frame to shed his former self. The facts outlined in both police reports indicate he’s not at the epicenter of the current investigation, and he was already cleared in the other.
Yet, if Hill is charged and proven guilty with actual facts, his NFL career is all but over, unless a team like the Cleveland Browns, who accepted Kareem Hunt with open arms after they determined hitting and kicking a woman was an acceptable action, signs him to what will be a futures contract.
As stated, I’ve been doing this a long time. I have had friends within the organization and there are players that I respect. I have not reached out to a single one of them since the Hill news broke. Because, in dissecting the facts, it’s not hard to read between the lines of both reports.
In the vast reality of being a sports fan and enjoying being a fan, the entire process has lost some appeal. In large part, because the political times are so divisive that we’ve lost our ability to be compassionate, especially when it comes to our sports figures. We forget they are people just like you and me.
Again, I’m not defending Hill by any means regarding his actions of the past nor ignoring the current allegations under review by local authorities. At some point, the facts will come out. He will either be cleared or charged. What we do know at this point is that Hill is not named in the open investigation filed this past week.
So where does that leave us regarding the worst-case scenario for Hill and the Chiefs?
On the flip side of my soapbox, I certainly believe the Browns signing Hunt and the NFL only giving him an eight-game suspension was a massive mistake and opens the door for Hill to play again should the facts be proven truthful.
I can’t speak for Hill because nothing has come to light that indicates charges are going to be filed, thus the doomsday scenario may never apply.
However, I’m convinced the precedent set by the actions of the Kanas City Chiefs when they cut Hunt upon the video evidence presented and the actions by the Cleveland Browns are vastly different.
In my view, Hunt still doesn’t understand what it takes to become truly remorseful. The NFL drills deep when it comes to drafting players and Hunt had red flags before the Chiefs selected him. Yet the man who drafted him, John Dorsey, offered Hunt another chance to chase his NFL dreams despite the warning signs since his high school days. I hope that, for his sake, he changes; like everyone else, Hunt is getting a second chance.
As for Hill, what he did years ago to his now-fiancée, who is also at the center of this current investigation, was inexcusable and disturbing. Yet, he paid his price and did things the right way to show the Chiefs the risk they chose in drafting him would be rewarded.
Logically, with Hill set to become the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL (although that’s on hold now), it’s hard to believe he’d risk all that. Yet as a father, sometimes emotions are elevated and relationships between parents become fractured; that doesn’t mean harming a child or hitting a woman at any point is okay. Should that ultimately be the case regarding his son, Hill should be cut immediately.
As we stand here today, collectively the facts are still distorted, and the truths are being scrambled to fit the narrative of the day. For me personally, I do have some facts, some thoughts about what happened, and I could grab the flavor of the day headline, but that’s not my job – nor is it my place, especially when an innocent child is involved.
The reporters’ code is to state the facts, nothing more or less. But the new media narrative where free speech used to be a privilege has opened the door for any media member to say anything even absent of truth – especially on social media, where characters are limited and exploited to gain eyeballs.
In reality, since my 20s, I’ve been a fan who has been given the great honor to write about the team that I’ve loved, admired, and hope someday becomes a Super Bowl Champion once again.
As mentioned, there is nothing I haven’t seen, heard about, or witnessed in the last three decades that has shocked me. In that same light, I’ve witnessed some incredible acts of charity, kindness, and abundance of compassion by athletes and organizational leaders within the Chiefs organization that never gets reported.
Why is that?
This past weekend, and even now, the Chiefs’ public relations department (people who I respect at the highest level) have had to deal with this in a manner that probably makes them want to call in sick until the facts emerge. Yet, this is what they signed up for and something they’ll need to handle head-on.
In the end, the facts may paint a picture far different than the one poorly reported by the local newspaper. Perhaps, once this clears and no charges are filed, it’s likely the issue boils down to cracks in the foundation between Tyreek and his fiancée.
At stake now, and my only concern that remains, is the safety and protection of an innocent child. That means whoever steps up must unconditionally love him and sacrifice anything to ensure they have only his best interest in mind and each day.
One Response
What’s even more appalling is the fact that no apology will be issued to Tyreek Hill after he is exonerated of the charges after having his name tarnished.