The Kansas City Chiefs have another decision to make when it comes to one of their top playmakers’ off-field issues.
The Chiefs have barred wide receiver Tyreek Hill from team facilities after disturbing audio surfaced Thursday night in which Hill’s fiancée accused him of abusing their 3-year-old son.
Hill and his fiancée, Crystal Espinoza, were under investigation after their 3-year-old suffered a broken arm. Johnson City district attorney Steve Howe said Wednesday he believed a crime was committed, but his office ultimately wasn’t sure who to charge due to lack of evidence.
One day later, audio of a conversation believed to be between Hill and Espinoza at a Dubai airport was leaked to KCTV5 in Kansas City. During the conversation, Hill denies any wrongdoing despite Espinoza pressing him.
“Why did he say daddy did it?” Espinoza can be heard asking him. “Why? Why did he say daddy did it?”
Hill has no answer for that, simply stating the child “says a lot of things.”
Espinoza goes on to say the child is “terrified” of Hill, to which the wideout replies “You need to be terrified of me, too, dumb b—-.”
She eventually adds: “Literally, he kept saying ‘Daddy punches me,’ which you do when he starts crying. What do you do? You make him open up his arms and you punch him in the chest. And then if he gets in trouble, you get the belt out.”
The Chiefs late Thursday night made it clear Hill won’t be part of the team’s offseason activity until more information is gathered.
“We were deeply disturbed by what we heard (on the recorded conversation),” general manager Brett Veach said, per ESPN.com. “We were deeply concerned. Now obviously we have great concern for Crystal. We are greatly concerned for Tyreek. But our main focus, our main concern, is with the young child.”
Sadly, this sort of alleged behavior isn’t surprising for Hill given his past. He was arrested and eventually pleaded guilty to domestic assault after Espinal accused him in 2014 of punching her and choking her when she was pregnant with their child.
The Chiefs released running back Kareem Hunt in November after video surfaced showing Hunt kicking a woman in a Cleveland hotel. Hunt has since signed with the Cleveland Browns.
