Obviously, it's impossible not to hate what this says about the NFL's oft-balleyhoed line of bullshit regarding their zero tolerance approach to their players being violent towards women. You'd have to live amongst sugarplums and fairies to think that a 23 year old with a rushing title under his belt didn't have a future in football after being cut predominantly due to PR. However, for that future to come to fruition merely one week following a season in which his skill-set (as amazing as it may be) was proven replaceable, and for it be to offered by an organization who doesn't even necessarily have a need for said skill-set somehow makes this inevitable news even more inexcusable. The Browns. The Cleveland Browns. The franchise and fanbase that, after decades of dysfunction and defeat, was finally heading into an offseason with a legitimate reason to be positive. The roster that, for the first time in forever, actually appeared built to either contend or come close to it. You want to know how little risk NFL teams associate with giving a second chance to those that place their hands on women? Consider that the reward for the one team who had every reason to avoid upsetting an apple cart that was finally not filled with rotten fruit is already incredibly limited by Nick Chubb (who is just as young and talented), Duke Johnson (who is just as good of a pass catcher), and a suspension that's yet to have started. On the surface, this isn't as much of an indictment of the moral compass of the entire NFL as it is that of the Cleveland Browns. After all, thirty-one owners didn't jump at the opportunity to sign someone whose checkered past is caught on tape. That being said, regardless of Jim Dorsey's familiarity with a running back he drafted during his time in Kansas City, his urge to pull the trigger as soon as the sun set on the season tells you all you need to know about his expectations of his competition.
While it was both unforgivable and extremely hard to watch, the uncertain circumstances surrounding Kareem Hunt's assault of a young woman made me uneasy in calling for the end of his career, no questions asked. Therefore, I'm begrudgingly okay with him getting an opportunity to prove himself as a changed person. I'm just not nearly as okay with the idea of him being silently salivated over like the last slice of pizza and being shamelessly snagged by a team that's far from starving for talent at the position only two months after the video went public. Those aspects truly speak all-too-loudly to the lack of fucks given in NFL circles.
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