UPDATED 9:45 p.m. ET: Kareem Hunt has issued an apology after news of him being released by the Chiefs broke. Read it below, via Ian Rapoport.
A statement from soon-to-be former #Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt: “I want to apologize for my actions. I deeply regret what I did. I hope to move on from this.”
UPDATED 8:59 p.m. ET: The Chiefs are releasing Kareem Hunt. Read the team's statement below.
Statement from the Kansas City Chiefs on Kareem Hunt
➡️ https://t.co/MrjIX1Y7Ke pic.twitter.com/efSMqUDio1
UPDATED 6:45 p.m. ET: Following the surfacing of video showing Kareem Hunt apparently attacking a woman at a Cleveland hotel, ESPN's Dan Graziano reports that Hunt has been sent home from the Kansas City Chiefs' practice facility.
I am told the Chiefs sent Kareem Hunt home from the facility today upon learning of the release of the video and pending further action. Most likely short-term resolution is that Hunt would be placed on the commissioner's exempt list pending a final decision, but we will see.
See original story below.
Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt has been captured on a hotel video attacking a woman, TMZ reports. You can watch the brutal video above.
In the video, Hunt is seen talking with an unidentified woman, who TMZ reports is 19-years-old. After a friend rushes over, Hunt violently pushes the woman in the face before becoming entangled with her as others come into the frame to get between the two.
With friends holding him back, Hunt bull rushes one of his friends and violently pushes him into the woman knocking both of them into the opposite wall before they fall on the ground. They look dazed after the collision and remain on the ground. After initially standing up, the woman returns to a crouch trying to gather herself. That's when Hunt momentarily breaks free and kicks her back down.
According to TMZ, the incident went down in the Cleveland hotel, The Metropolitan at the 9, in the early morning hours of Feb. 10. Police were called to the scene but no one was arrested. According to police reports obtained by TMZ, they viewed security footage of the incident before later submitting it to prosecutors.
The teary woman told police at the time that the argument started because she was kicked out of Hunt's room when she refused to hook up with one of his friends. Kareem's friends told police the woman had gone crazy when she had been asked to leave and called Hunt the n-word. TMZ has also released videos of both conversations.
The NFL's stance on domestic violence has been controversial since Ray Rice was shown in security footage punching his wife in a hotel elevator and then dragging her unconscious body out by her hair. He was initially suspended two games after allegedly telling commissioner Roger Goodell he punched her, but was later suspended indefinitely when video of the incident was published by TMZ. A later report allegedly revealed that Goodell and the NFL had actually seen the footage before assessing the suspension, which was backed up by a law enforcement official.
So far this season, Hunt, a 2017 Pro Bowler, has appeared in every game for the Chiefs. As of publishing, the NFL and the Chiefs have not responded to TMZ's request for comment about the video, but Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt addressed the charges in August.
According to ESPN, Hunt addressed reports of the altercation in August and said that he had "learned from it."
