KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Chiefs moved swiftly yet cautiously Thursday night in suspending wide receiver Tyreek Hill from team activities for "the foreseeable future" while investigating disturbing audio recorded by Hill's fiancee as they discussed an injury to their 3-year-old child.
Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said he call Hill's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, after the conclusion of the first round of the NFL Draft Thursday night and decided to sideline Hill from team activities during offseason workouts.
"We are going to gather more information, we're going to evaluate this information, and we will make the right decision regarding Tyreek Hill," Veach said.
Hill reported for offseason workouts with his teammates on April 15. On Wednesday, Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe announced his office would not file charges in the investigation of an injury to Hill's and Espinal's 3-year-old son. Howe said he believed a crime had occurred, but could not conclusively prove who committed the crime.
The audio, recorded by Espinal, shows the couple arguing about the incident. Veach said the team learned about the audio in real time as it aired on local television.
"We were deeply disturbed by what we heard," Veach said. "We were deeply concerned. Now obviously we have great concern for Crystal, we are greatly concerned for Tyreek, but our main focus and our main concern is with the young child."
The decision to suspend Hill from team activities was a measured but quick move the club.
It's the second time in less than six months the Chiefs have dealt with one of their biggest stars exposed in an embarrassing recording. The Chiefs released running back Kareem Hunt hours after TMZ posted security video of Hunt allegedly kicking a woman during an incident at a Cleveland hotel in February 2018.
The suspension of Hill shows a more measured response from the club. The Chiefs felt Hunt had mislead them about the incident, and the security video undermined what the player had told the club.
While Veach said he finds the allegations on the Hill audio disturbing, the organization wants to move cautiously and fully investigation the revelations on the audio recording before making a move.
Veach issued the statement from the club but did not take questions. Veach and head coach Andy Reid are both scheduled to address the media during Friday night's portion of the draft. The team is also hosting a 2:30 p.m. press conference to introduce newly acquired defensive end Frank Clark.
Club chairman and CEO Clark Hunt is in Kansas City for the draft, but the team did not indicate if he would address the media Friday.
