Fired.
Image Copyright © 2017
Associated Press
Copyright © 2018
By Ralph F. Couey
Written content only
For almost two seasons, Kareem Hunt was a football star. He had a memorable debut against the Patriots in a prime time game, replacing an injured Spencer Ware who now replaces him. He fumbled his first NFL carry and would never fumble again. That night, he gashed Bill Belichick's defense for 248 all-purpose yards and would go on to finish the year as the NFL's rushing champ.
Hunt was not just a runner. He also caught passes -- a lot of passes -- and made spectacular yards afterwards. He was the third in a string of great Chief's running backs after Priest Holmes and Jamaal Charles. It would appear that Ware, the strongest back out of training camp had been, in the sports vernacular, Pipped. Hunt rapidly became a fan favorite. His yards were down a bit this season, but only because he was not the whole offense, but part of a multi-headed hydra of nightmare proportions that the Chief's offense has become. But he still made incredible plays, dodging, weaving, hurdling, and catching long passes streaking out of the backfield. It would have been easy to make the assertion that this was the beginning of a long Hall of Fame career. He was that good.
But suddenly, shockingly, it all ended.
This week, the tabloid media group TMZ released a video from a security camera in a Cleveland hotel showing an apparently unhinged Hunt assaulting a young woman in the hallway in February. The hotel refused to release a copy of the incriminating footage to either the Chiefs or the NFL, but apparently was willing to "leak" (read: money changed hands) to TMZ. The local police investigated but did not charge anyone, although the report lists both men and the woman as "suspects." The Chiefs did their own investigation and apparently believed what Hunt told them, being confirmed in that belief since no charges had been filed against the running back. Fast forward ten months, and the situation changed completely. It isn't clear what Hunt told the Chiefs, or what police told them, but whatever it was, it was wrong. In Hunt's case, he lied.
Had Kareem Hunt been straight from the beginning about the events that early morning, he might have survived this with a suspension and hefty fine. But his lies caught up to him. In the space of less than eight hours, a bright career ended with all the finality of a slamming sarcophagus lid. We've seen this before, rising and established stars in many different fields destroyed by acts of incredible stupidity. Part of the cost of fame is that such a person lives under a glass bubble. Every act, word, even thought become instant fodder for the public microscope, free to be judged by countless millions, most of whom are never in possession of all the facts. Famous people will either survive that crucible, or fall from grace, vanishing from memory.
The Chiefs did the right thing. Releasing Hunt sent a message to the entire league that no matter how big a star you have become, not matter how apparently irreplaceable you are to the team, you can be kicked to the curb in an instant.
There is an unwritten code covering male behavior, the first two rules of which are "do not ever hit a woman" and "don't lie." Like it or not, men are judged by their discipline and integrity, and if we fail those critical tests, we abdicate our right to be called a man. Hunt failed those tests.
The impact on the team hasn't been felt yet, although in today's game against the Raiders, a 4-pronged running attack gashed Oakland's defense for 177 rushing yards, including 55 by QB Mahomes. But what was missing was "the big play," the big gainer or spectacular touchdown that only Hunt could provide. But it was enough, even given another near-meltdown by the Chief's defense. Hunt was a big part of that offense, but was not the only round in the clip. Spencer Ware was a beast at LSU, and was to be the starter last year. He showed signs of that today, even though he only rushed for 47 yards, his longest run one of 17 yards. But everyone concedes that Ware is a quality back who could start for any number of other teams. Patrick Mahomes is getting better, and Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce (186 receiving yards today), and Sammy Watkins (when finally healthy) still form a cadre of offensive weaponry that will give opposing defenses sleepless nights. The march towards Atlanta in February should continue unabated.
I want to be completely and clearly understood here. Violence against women is despicably inexcusable. It is a failure of character. But there are nonetheless behavioral elements to this event that have to be examined and acknowledged.
The female in question, 19-year-old Abigail Ottinger is a minor, and yet managed to get herself and a friend aboard a party bus, where by all accounts she drank. This raises some interesting questions about the company running the party bus, how two minor children got aboard, and how they got access to alcohol. Later, Ottinger and her friend, already intoxicated, accompanied two strange men to a hotel room. If this was a television show or movie, we'd all be yelling at the screen already. Once inside the room, the two men discovered that the girls were minors and they were asked, then directed to leave. Once outside the room, instead of going home, Ottinger proceeded to yell and bang on the room door for 30 minutes. Her friend suggested that they leave. Ottinger responded by smacking her friend in the face. At some point, she started in on the racial epithets.
Is there anything in this account that doesn't already suggest looming disaster?
In this culture, in this time, it is understood that when a white person, male or female, unleashes the "N" word on a black person, bad things are going to happen, even when both parties are stone cold sober. Alcohol enhanced the outrage, and in full view of surveillance cameras, Hunt committed the unforgivable sin.
There are several decision points that could have averted this disaster. The purveyors of the party bus could have been much tighter with their ID checks. Hunt and his friend could have realized that nothing good happens after midnight and too much to drink and not invited the girls to their room. The girls could have mad e the decision that it was dangerous to drink illegally and to excess, and that it was very unwise to accompany two strangers to a hotel room. When Ottinger commenced her door-banging "N"-word flinging performance, the two men could have just called hotel security to have them removed.
But that's not what happened. Ms. Ottinger will no doubt be held up as a feminist icon after this despite her complete lack of discretion and intelligence that night. Her contribution to this disaster will likely be covered up and forgotten over time. There is some sense that she knew she did something wrong because she has refused all media interview requests, and in fact refused to speak with investigators from the NFL and the Chiefs. And the officers who responded to the scene declined to make any arrests.
But in the end, none of that matters. What does matter is this: Kareem Hunt hit a woman. Whatever his motivations at the time, that is just wrong, and there's no way to sugar coat that act. He has been punished in the most painful way possible. His dream has crashed and burned. Everything he worked so hard for up to this point has been ripped away.
And that's the way it should be.
Hunt may at some point return to play. But it's unlikely that he will ever be cheered like he was in Kansas City for he will forever live under this cloud. If he never returns to play, I can't see him establishing any kind of meaningful career after this. No one would ever trust him, or would want his kind of notoriety on their corporate shingle. His life may in fact be over.
In our solar system, there are trillions of icy comets orbiting far beyond the orbit of Neptune. Once in a while, one is dislodged and plunges sunward. For months, it is a glorious thing to see streaking through space streaming a bright tail. But once it rounds the sun and heads back out, the glory fades and it becomes just another block of ice. Sometimes, the comet dies a fiery death crashing into the Sun. Kareem Hunt streaked in like a comet and for 27 games lit up the skies. But his glory has faded, and he has crashed. He may never be heard from again. All because he drank too much and made several really bad decisions. Abigail Ottinger also drank too much and made several really bad decisions, but she will be forgotten. Decades from now, when this incident is recalled, she will be remembered not by name, but as the unnamed woman kicked by the NFL star. The long-term consequences to her will be negligible at best. Is this fair? Well, boys and girls, the world doesn't have to fair.
Only round.
I hope Mr. Hunt learns from this. I hope every young man learns from this and thinks twice about getting drunk around women late at night. I would like to think that young women will also learn something about not putting themselves in dangerous situations.
As I see it, in this tragedy there were two perpetrators. There were also two victims. They just happened to be the same two people.
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