Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach announced late Thursday night that Tyreek Hill would not be with the team during offseason workouts after a recording was made public of Hill and his fiancee discussing the incident that left their son with a broken arm. About 12 hours later on Friday, the Chiefs released the same statement.
The Chiefs’ follow up, which is almost word-for-word the statement that Veach read to reporters on Thursday night, seems to be an attempt to buy time while they figure out what to do with Hill, the supremely talented wide receiver who should have already been on thin ice after he violently attacked his fiancee when she was pregnant with their now 3-year-old son.
“We were made aware of the audio between Tyreek and Crystal,” the team’s statement said, echoing Veach’s comments. “We were made aware of this information in real time, just like the general public. We were deeply disturbed and concerned by what we heard. We have great concern for Crystal, we are greatly concerned for Tyreek, but our main concern is with the young child. We decided at this time and for the foreseeable future, Tyreek Hill will not take part in any team activities. We are going to gather more information, we’re going to evaluate this information, and we will make the right decision regarding Tyreek Hill.”
Pressure is growing on the Chiefs not just to talk about taking the matter seriously, but to act on it by releasing Hill. Simply putting out a statement is not sufficient.