Kareem Hunt has broken his silence to claim that he is not that type of person and says he deserves a second chance just days after shocking footage emerged of him beating a 19-year-old woman in a Cleveland hotel.
The Kansas City Chiefs cut the star running back on Friday after he lied about kicking and shoving the woman during an altercation back in February that was caught on video.
In an interview with ESPN on Sunday, Hunt insisted that he wasn’t that ‘type of person’ and begged for forgiveness as his NFL career hangs by a thread.
The 23-year-old was released just hours after the footage of the violent encounter emerged on Friday.
‘I just want to let the world know how sorry I am for my actions. It’s been a tough time for me and I’m extremely embarrassed from the video,’ Hunt said.
‘I’m definitely not that type of person. My mother raised me right.
‘I’m asking for forgiveness. I believe I deserve forgiveness. I know it’s going to be hard. I’m not going to let this bring me down.
In an interview with ESPN on Sunday, Kareem Hunt insisted that he wasn’t that ‘type of person’ and begged for forgiveness after his career went up in flames
‘I think I deserve it because if you really know me… I’m so respectful to everyone and I made a bad decision at that time, I just hope people forgive me.’
Hunt claims that he only saw the footage for the first time when it was released publicly on Friday.
He refused to go into detail about what actually happened at the hotel.
‘It was just a long night. It don’t really matter what happened, I was in the wrong. I could have took responsibility and make the right decision,’ he said.
When pressed for further explanation about the encounter, Hunt said: ‘It was definitely some things that was said and did that I did not like… it’s not an excuse.
If you really know me… I’m so respectful to everyone and I made a bad decision at that time, I just hope people forgive me.
‘I didn’t mean to hurt anybody.
‘I never met the girl before that one time. My first two days living at this new place… and I had some friends over. It was a disagreement and I just wanted her to leave.
‘You can’t explain it – the video explains it. I’m not that type of person. I’m really disappointed.’
Hunt admitted to lying to the Chiefs about the incident but did not go into specifics, saying: ‘I didn’t tell them everything’.
‘I didn’t (tell the Chiefs) about the video. I realized what I did when I saw the video.’
He said he wanted to apologize to the woman but didn’t know how to get in contact with her.
‘I don’t really know the woman. I want to tell her right now, I’m sorry for my actions that night,’ he said.
Hunt claims that he is not that type of person and says he deserves a second chance just days after the shocking footage emerged of him beating the 19-year-old in a Cleveland hotel
The Kansas City Chiefs cut the star running back on Friday after he lied about kicking and shoving the woman during an altercation back in February that was caught on video
Hunt said the NFL did not interview him at the time when it was investigating the offseason incident at the Cleveland hotel.
The Chiefs had stuck by the Pro Bowl running back at the time, despite reports of the woman’s assault accusations. Hunt was never arrested over the allegations.
Hunt was sent home from the Chiefs’ facility on Friday afternoon after the video emerged.
The Chiefs said the footage proved that Hunt, who helped propel the team to first place in the AFC with a 9-2 record, had been ‘untruthful’ with investigators.
‘Earlier this year, we were made aware of an incident involving running back Kareem Hunt,’ the Chiefs said in a statement. ‘At that time, the National Football League and law enforcement initiated investigations into the issue.’
‘As part of our internal discussions with Kareem, several members of our management team spoke directly to him. Kareem was not truthful in those discussions. The video released today confirms that fact.’
In addition to being cut from the Chiefs, Hunt has been placed on the NFL Commissioner Exempt list, meaning he is barred from practicing, playing in or attending games.
It is unclear whether he will ever play again.
Hunt, in his interview with ESPN, said he was looking at getting counselling and earning people’s trust again.
He said he hoped he would be given another chance to play even though the Chiefs have vowed never to let him join the team again.
‘I’ve worked for this my entire life. I’ve sacrificed so much for this. If I get another chance, the team won’t regret it,’ he said.
Hunt told ESPN that he only saw the footage for the first time when it was released publicly on Friday. He admitted that he lied to the Chiefs and didn’t tell them about the video
The video footage that sparked the chain of the events captured Hunt arguing with the woman at 3.22 AM on February 10, 2018 outside Hunt’s hotel apartment at Cleveland’s Metropolitan at the 9.
The altercation began with Hunt coming out of the hotel room to speak with her.
As they got closer, a male who appeared to be friends with Hunt tried to separate them before Hunt violently shoved the woman away.
Several more men and another woman emerged from the hotel room and attempted to hold back Hunt, who re-emerged from the doorway to knock one of the men into the woman, both of whom tumbled to the carpeted hallway floor.
Later in the footage, which was originally released by TMZ, Hunt can be seen kicking the woman while she crouched on the floor.
Police body cam footage shows the woman crying as she spoke to police.
‘He shoved me, he pushed me,’ she said. ‘You can watch the video tapes, which I would like to see if that’s possible.
‘Also, I came down after and asked the clerk in the white shirt if I can call 911,’ she continued. ‘I’m not sure if that’s against the law to deny that to a person… I asked him three times, and he said ‘that’s what you get for being a s***.’
‘Meanwhile, Kareem, the person who assaulted me, had my phone. I had no way of calling,’ she continued, before adding, ‘I got it back.’
At the time, Cleveland police Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia told Cleveland.com the incident appeared to be a cross complaint, meaning either accuser would be directed to the prosecutor’s office if inclined to press charges.
According to the reports, the woman and a friend – who said they were Kent State students – spent the night visiting bars on a party bus with Hunt, Hunt’s friend and others before going back to Hunt’s apartment.
An Ohio native, Kareem Hunt lived in a Cleveland hotel apartment at the time of the incident
The dispute occurred after the accuser and her friend were asked to leave the apartment but remained in the hallway outside, making noise and banging on the apartment door, the reports say.
The woman told police that Hunt came out of the apartment and ‘shoved and pushed’ her, causing abrasions on her knee and hand and a scratch on her chest, according to the report.
A woman in Hunt’s group of friends told police that the accuser hit her in the face when she went into the hallway with hopes of ending the fracas.
There were also reports at the time that the woman called Hunt the N-word
Hunt went to high school in Willoughby, Ohio and played in college at Toledo before being drafted by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2017 draft. He led the NFL with 1,327 rushing yards as a rookie.
According to TMZ, Hunt was previously accused of punching a man in the face at an Ohio resort, but charged were never filed.
Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, who is not related to him, told reporters in August that he did not expect Hunt to be suspended during the 2018 season for either incident.
The latest incident reminded many of the notorious Ray Rice incident, in which the Ravens star was also cut only after shocking video footage was publicly released by TMZ.
The NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell took significant criticism in 2014 over his handling of the Rice incident, in which he knocked his then-fiancee unconscious.
Goodell first suspended Rice only two games after video emerged of the former Rutgers star dragging his now-wife out of an elevator at an Atlantic City casino.
However, that suspension was extended indefinitely after another video was released depicting Rice striking her in the elevator.
Rice has never returned to the NFL.