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NFL Says It Won't Suspend Kansas City Chiefs' Tyreek Hill Days Before Training Camp Begins

The NFL says Tyreek Hill's child is safe.
Jeremy Bernfeld
/
KCUR 89.3 file photo
The NFL says Tyreek Hill's child is safe.

Kansas City Chiefs star wide receiver Tyreek Hill won’t be sanctioned over an incident in which his 3-year-old son was injured. The NFL's decision comes just days before traning camp starts Tuesday.

The NFL decided after its investigation, which several media outlets reported included an interview with Hill about the March incident, that he did not deserve any suspension of playing time. 

"Throughout this investigation, the NFL’s primary concern has been the well-being of the child. Our understanding is that the child is safe and that the child’s ongoing care is being directed and monitored by the Johnson County District Court and the Johnson County Department for Children and Families," the league said in a statement. 

Neither Hill nor his fiancee were charged, though the Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe said at the time that a crime had been committed and the situation was “deeply troubling.” Kansas Department for Children and Families spokesman Mike Deines said its case is ongoing, but couldn't answer additional questions.

“Our understanding is that the child is safe.” pic.twitter.com/frv4Z10pbc— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 19, 2019

The Chiefs have kept Hill — among the main drivers of last year’s 12-4 team — out of team activities since late April, but he'll rejoin them at training camp.

The NFL also said Friday that Hill didn't violate the "Personal Conduct Policy," and that he is "subject to conditions set forth by the District Court, Commissioner (Roger) Goodell, and the Chiefs, which include clinical evaluation and therapeutic intervention."

The team said in a statement that it'll "continue to monitor any new developments" and is "glad to welcome Tyreek back to the team." Hill's lawyer, Trey Pettlon, didn't immediately respond to a voicemail requesting comment.

The Chiefs drafted Hill in 2016, a controversial selection due to Hill’s 2015 domestic violence conviction in which he pleaded guilty to punching Crystal Espinal, his now-fiancee who at the time was his girlfriend and pregnant with their son. The conviction was expunged after he completed probation in 2018.

Last year, the Chiefs cut ties Kareem Hunt in midseason after a video surfaced showing him kicking a woman at a hotel in the offseason. Now with the Browns, Hunt was not charged, but will serve an eight-game suspension in the upcoming season.

Kansas News Service reporter Celia Llopis-Jepsen and KCUR morning newscaster Kyle Palmer contributed to this report.

Copyright 2021 KCUR 89.3. To see more, visit KCUR 89.3.

Ever since he set foot on the baseball diamond at Fernwood Park on Chicago's South Side, Greg Echlin began a love affair with the world of sports. After graduating from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, he worked as a TV sports anchor and a radio sportscaster in Salina, Kansas. He moved to Kansas City in 1984 and has been there since covering sports. Through the years, he has covered multiple Super Bowls, Final Fours and Major League Baseball's World Series and All-Star games.