The NFL’s statement regarding the decision to not discipline receiver Tyreek Hill said nothing about the troubling remark that sparked Hill’s banishment from the balance of the Chiefs’ offseason workout program.
“You need to be terrified of me too, bitch,” Hill said to Crystal Espinal during an argument regarding whether Hill’s young son respects Hill or is terrified of him.
PFT asked the league for an explanation regarding the decision not to discipline Hill despite this comment, which was made by Hill to the same woman he admittedly assaulted while she was pregnant, in 2014.
“That audio tape was reviewed as part of the overall investigation, which also included speaking to multiple people, including family members on both sides and Tyreek Hill,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy wrote in an email to PFT. “In addition, other information was gathered over the last four months.
“When viewed in the context of the full 11-minute, 27-second audio recording and all other information gathered, the statement did not rise to a level of warranting discipline under the personal conduct policy.”
That’s the most surprising aspect of the NFL’s decision. While the evidence regarding allegations of child abuse or child endangerment, if any, apparently was inconclusive at best, the threat made by Hill to Espinal was documented, and Hill’s own lawyer admitted that Hill said what he said. Indeed, Hill’s lawyer called the comment “unacceptable” and “inexcusable, of course” in a letter sent to the NFL in early May.
The NFL ultimately decided that, for the purposes of the Personal Conduct Policy’s clear prohibition on "[a]ctual or threatened physical violence,” the comment was acceptable and excusable, and that it ultimately nothing that would require even a fine of Tyreek Hill.