KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs parted ways with running back Kareem Hunt after a video posted online earlier Friday revealed he had not been truthful with the club regarding an altercation with a woman at a Cleveland hotel in February.
The club issued a statement indicating the NFL and law enforcement investigated allegations, but the video confirmed the running back misled team officials.
"As part of our internal discussions with Kareem, several members of our management team spoke directly to him," the statement read. "Kareem was not truthful in those discussions. The video released today confirms that fact. We are releasing Kareem immediately.”
Kareem Hunt issued a statement shortly after his release.
"I want to apologize for my actions," he said. "I deeply regret what I did. I hope to move on from this.”
The move likely leaves veteran Spencer Ware as the team's starting running back on Sunday against the Oakland Raiders. The Chiefs also have veteran Damien Williams and rookie Darrel Williams as backups.
The NFL announced earlier in the evening the league had placed Hunt on the Commissioner Exempt list. The NFL's statement indicates the league's investigation, which began in February immediately following the altercation, "will include a review of the new information that was made public today."
The move leaves the Chiefs on the hook for the remainder of Hunt's pro-rated signing bonus. That results in a cap charge of $387,976 toward the 2019 salary cap. The Chiefs also gain a small bit of cap relief this season, accounting for $179,765 in the remaining portion of his base salary. The Chiefs are not responsible for the base salary of the final two years of his rookie contract.
A security video from a Cleveland hotel shows the Chiefs running back in a physical altercation with a woman with several bystanders attempting to separate the two during an incident in February.
The portion of the video published by TMZ shows Kareem Hunt shoving and kicking the 19-year-old woman. Police were called to the scene, but no charges have been filed in the Feb. 10 incident.
ESPN's Dan Graziano reported the Chiefs sent the player home from the team's training facility after the video's release. He left the facility at approximately 2 p.m.
Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt said in August he did not anticipate the running back receiving a suspension from the incident.
“I really don’t, but we tend not to be privy to those decisions that are made by the NFL,” Clark Hunt said.
A Chiefs spokesperson said the team planned to release a statement later Friday regarding the release of the video.
Kareem Hunt also found himself involved in a second physical altercation during the offseason. He allegedly punched a man during an encounter at a resort in Put-in-Bay, Ohio in June.
Hunt briefly addressed both incidents during the team's training camp on Aug. 4.
"I learned from it and I'm focused on football," Hunt said.
Hunt said he learned about being "in the right place at the right time" from the two incidents.
"I'm just going to keep thinking about football and go out there and do my job," Hunt said.
When asked what head coach Andy Reid told him about the offseason incidents, Hunt answered without additional explanation.
"Just move forward and focus on football, learn from it," Hunt said.
TMZ Sports published the video at 1:33 p.m. central time. The Chiefs locker room closed to reporters as scheduled at 1:30 p.m. No indication suggested players or the team were aware of the video's release before TMZ Sports published it online.
