THE CLEVELAND BROWNS have signed running back Kareem Hunt, three months after the former Kansas City Chiefs player was sacked following the emergence of a video which showed him appearing to shove and kick a woman.
Browns general manager John Dorsey said in a statement the organisation believed Hunt should be given the opportunity to resurrect his career after the team carried out “extensive research” into his case.
“We fully understand and respect the complexity of questions and issues in signing a player with Kareem’s history and do not condone his actions,” Dorsey said in the statement.
“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.”
The Browns said Hunt had taken “full responsibility” for his actions and had demonstrated “true remorse”.
“Secondly, just as importantly, he is undergoing and is committed to necessary professional treatment and a plan that has been clearly laid out,” Dorsey added.
The NFL has yet to issue a ruling on Hunt’s case. Hunt has been on the NFL commissioner’s exempt list since the scandal erupted in November last year, prompting the Super Bowl-chasing Chiefs to fire him almost immediately.
The Browns said the organisation recognised that Hunt remains subject to discipline by the NFL, adding that any further transgressions by the player would not be tolerated.
Hunt, who established himself as one the top running back talents in the NFL after being drafted by the Chiefs in 2017, saw his career left in the balance after the video of his altercation emerged in November.
Security camera footage of the incident in February 2018, which was published by TMZ, shows a man identified as Hunt exchanging words with a woman, shoving her with one hand before she returns and takes a swipe at his face. He is later seen kicking the woman.
No one was arrested and Hunt was never charged by police at the time of the incident.
The Chiefs later fired Hunt after complaining he “had not been truthful” in his earlier account of what had taken place during the incident.
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