While Kareem Hunt may be the pariah of the current news media cycle, this — too — shall pass. Sooner or later (maybe sooner, once the full story of why he lost his cool emerges), someone is going to pull the trigger and take a chance on the troubled 23-year-old. The kid needs guidance, tough love and a second-chance. Perhaps Jon Gruden and the Raiders could be his safe space while he rehabilitates himself.
Look, everyone deserves a chance at rehabilitation and redemption. Forgiveness does not equal condoning. It simply equals a belief we, as humans, are flawed and fallible. Hunt screwed up, lost his cool, threw out professionalism and — most importantly — allegedly assaulted a woman. Doesn’t matter what she said. Doesn’t matter if she hit him first. None is OK. This is just a symptom of a deeper problem for Hunt. If someone doesn’t step in, this young man’s life will be over.
The Chiefs released Hunt, and he apologized in a terrible interview Sunday with ESPN’s Lisa Salters. Whoever is doing Hunt’s PR should be fired. This was not the time nor the place. His apology was far too premature. It comes off as disingenuous. A real apology would come months from now when he realizes self-control is what got him into this circumstance in the first place.
“I’m extremely embarrassed because of that video,” he said. “I’m definitely not that type of person.”
But, you are. This wasn’t the only incident. Hunt has been accused of punching a man in the face in June at a resort in Ohio as well as another incident that TMZ released, which showed Hunt being restrained by a security guard. A 37-year-old man alleged he was hospitalized with a broken rib and broken nose in the confrontation. No charges have been filed.
I understand “boys being boys,” and a little bit of occasional drunken fisticuffs but this is habitual and reportedly brutal.
Dude has issues. Deep-seeded issues. He needs help, and now. If not, someone — a wealthy NFL elite or someone enabling him in poverty after he’s been chewed up and thrown out for his athletic potential — is going to suffer the consequences.
I believe he can be saved.
I’m sorry, I’m just not a part of this new wave of total destruction for someone when they fail this day and age has begun to endorse. Glass houses rarely acknowledge their own frailties and vulnerabilities. There is a price to be paid for failing to control his emotions and his hands (feet too) in an intense situation. Maybe he was drunk. Maybe he wasn’t. Doesn’t excuse it but there is now a penance that must be paid.
He has three incidents looming from alleged assaults in public places.
A repentant man will eagerly seek to atone for their failures. Cowards and the guilty only seek to mask it.
If Hunt is truly dedicated to growing, paying for his failure, and open to rehabilitating himself, why wouldn’t the Raiders take a chance. Gruden will give the tough love needed while he serves his potential eight-game suspension next year. Contract should be cost-effective and Mark Davis has never shied away from giving maligned players a chance (see injured Martavis Bryant).
Here are the easy selling points (beyond the controversy)
The Toledo product led all rushers in yardage last season as a rookie in 2017, and rushed for 824 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games for the Chiefs this season. He was one of the weapons MVP-candidate Patrick Mahomes rode when defenses pushed through. There is little doubt the young man is talented. The question is more about his ability to control himself off the field.
He is fast, elusive and cost-effective for a team trying to cut payroll and load up rather quickly. The 2020 season — the first in Las Vegas — should be a well-pieced team. If the Raiders could save a few million on a player seeking redemption, then, why not? If he TRULY is repentant, he will follow the stipulations the team and Gruden lay out ahead of time. Counsel the drifting young man. Insulate him. Do it in inexpensively.
but Save him.
Then, turn him loose on the NFL. A healthy young body, loyal and thankful, will run through a brick wall for the team, management, coaches and fans who believed in him and supported his evolution into a better man. Bo Jackson was a problem child. Bill Romanowski was no saint. Lyle Alzado was a feared beast. All found peace with the help of someone who channeled their gifts and stifled their aggression. It was in the Silver & Black that they found their best selves.
The Raiders and Gruden could save this young man. Sure, it’ll help the wins and losses. Sure, it’s a perfect storyline for the NFL as the Raiders open in Las Vegas in 2020 (after maybe four games to close out the 2019 season). Counsel him. Bring him along. Snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
No franchise in football cares less about perception than the Raiders have, do and always will. This is an excellent moment to do both. Reach out, bring this young man aboard, and expect him to become his best self with no room for wiggle. This is an excellent moment to prove sports can save a lost soul.
