Coincidentally or not, a Kansas prosecutor announced one day before the first day of the NFL draft that: (1) he believes a crime was committed against the three-year-old son of Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill; and (2) the prosecutor believes that the evidence does not conclusively reveal who committed the crime.
And so the case is closed. Which means that, as to the NFL, the case is open. Will the NFL investigate this situation, and if necessary impose discipline on Hill?
“We do not have a comment,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told PFT via email.
The league may not have a comment now, given that the highlight of the league’s offseason is about to unfold in Nashville tonight, but the league surely will have one eventually. At a time when it seems that the league has been trying to soften its approach to players who ultimately face no scrutiny in the criminal justice system, these facts cry out for intervention, given the presence of a three-year-old boy who will otherwise receive no justice.
The league created its mechanism for delving into the private lives of their players and policing their conduct. The league beefed up this protocol in 2014, when it became obvious after the Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, and Greg Hardy situations that the system wasn’t doing enough to manage the bad P.R. that flows from bad behavior. In this unique circumstance, with the league able to send a clear and simple message to Hill (“help us figure out who injured your child, or don’t play football”), the league can do something far more significant than supplement the outcome of the efforts of the criminal justice system.
For once, the NFL can help alter that outcome, stripping away a player’s privilege of having NFL employment unless and until he gives information that will ensure proper accountability for whoever injured his son. It’s a tremendous opportunity but also an obligation that needs to be exercised in a way that properly balances the rights of the player against the broader goals of the Personal Conduct Policy.
And that could force the league to ask itself, “What are the broader goals of the Personal Conduct Policy?” For years, it’s been about managing the messaging and protecting the Shield. It’s never been about ensuring that true justice is done.
In this one specific instance, it can be. Hopefully, it will be.