Clark Hunt wants Chiefs ‘to own’ their mistakes

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Clark Hunt stood in front of a dozen or so reporters and offered humility. Finally. Humility not from himself, necessarily, but from the Chiefs as an organization. Maybe this can mean more honesty and progress from a franchise that too often talks better than it acts.

This Saturday meeting with reporters was part of the normal routine around the NFL draft, but Hunt knew the questions would center on Tyreek Hill.

Hill is the star receiver who has been asked to stay away from team activities after KCTV-5 released audio of him threatening his fiancee. There were also apparent references to Hill punching his son in the chest, and an accusation that the son told investigators Hill broke his arm. It’s all repulsive.

In Hunt’s first public words about the situation, he further distanced the Chiefs from Hill by repeatedly saying “he’s not with the franchise.” Hunt was otherwise vague on the franchise’s plans from here, referencing “ongoing investigations.”

But this was notable: Almost exactly three years ago, the Chiefs defended their drafting of Hill with arrogance and delusion. Hill was dropped from many draft boards because of a guilty plea to charges of domestic assault and battery by strangulation. At the time of the draft, he was still on probation. The Chiefs took him anyway.

Then-general manager John Dorsey said the club should be trusted, citing the “due diligence” it had done in researching Hill and his background. Head coach Andy Reid referenced experience with Michael Vick after the dog-fighting scandal and his family’s work with domestic violence advocacy.

There was never a single moment that the leadership core appeared to understand how easily this could go wrong.

“We would never put anybody in this community in harm’s way,” Dorsey said.

“We’re not going to do anything to put this community or this organization in a bind,” Reid said.

It was ignorant, patronizing, and worse. If they bothered to ask or listen to those who live in the world of domestic violence prevention and awareness, they would have known that no amount of a scouting department’s due diligence could provide the certainty to think like that.

Here was Hunt’s response on Saturday when asked if his confidence in so-called due diligence has changed with Hill’s trouble:

“I think on every player you bring into the organization there’s some element of risk,” Hunt said. “Could be his playing ability, could be things that distract him off the field as well as trouble they get into. That’s a risk you take. It’s something that as a franchise we have to be willing to own when it doesn’t go the right way. That’s something I believe in and something I know (GM Brett Veach) believes in as well.”

A few points. Those words should have been said and believed years ago. You don’t get credit for the baseline achievement of recognizing reality.

But this does signal important progress and provide a window into how the organization might operate.

Hill’s legal future remains uncertain and the audio presents many difficult questions. The recording was made by Crystal Espinal, Hill’s fiancee and mother of their son — as well as the couple’s twins who are due soon — and the woman he pleaded guilty to hurting four years ago.