NFL investigators met with Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill for eight hours Wednesday in Kansas City.
The interview, which lasted from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central time, was conducted by NFL Special Counsel for Investigations Lisa Friel, sources told The Star. Jennifer Gaffney, who works with Friel, was also reportedly present, along with Hills legal representation.
The meeting is part of the leagues investigation following a child abuse probe by Johnson County and Kansas officials involving Hill and his fiancee, Crystal Espinal. Hill is facing a potential suspension under the NFLs Personal Conduct Policy, but a league source told The Star theres optimism that Hill, whos been suspended from teach activities since April 25, will be with the team for training camp.
The Chiefs veterans are scheduled to report to St. Joseph for camp on July 26. Their rookies report July 23.
As of Wednesday, the NFL hadnt reached out to the Johnson County District Attorney to meet with him or his staff this week. A source with knowledge of the situation told The Star the league has no further interviews planned with Hill at this time. It isnt known who else, if anyone, investigators planned to speak with in Kansas City.
In an email, District Attorney Steve Howe said the last time his office heard from the NFL was in April after he announced that he wasnt filing charges in the case. The NFL reached out to his office, Howe said.
This phone contact centered on their request of our investigative records, Howe told The Star on Wednesday. They were told that we would object to their open records request. We have had no contact with them since then.
In March, the NFL reached out to Overland Park Police, seeking records about complaints of child abuse involving Hill and his son, according to a letter sent by a league representative to the police department. The letter, dated March 12, came three days before The Star reported that Hill was under investigation for an alleged battery.
The request asked for all reports relevant to the case, including calls for service, photos, witness statements, police report narratives, medical records, video tapes, recordings of 911 calls and any reports related to review findings by the Johnson County DAs office.
As noted by the police department in its response, only a portion of the report was released. Other portions, including details of what occurred and any information about a suspect, were not released. Police said that, because the report concerned a child in need of care, the full report would not be released without a court order.
Howe told The Star earlier this month that the criminal child abuse probe is not an active investigation. But he also told The Star that comments he made during an April 24 news conference still hold true. At that time, Howe said he believed Hill and Espinals 3-year-old son had been hurt but couldnt prove who did it.
Though the criminal investigation is no longer active, Hill and Espinal do have an ongoing case with the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF). Generally speaking, such cases can take weeks, months or even years for families to receive the services they need.
In a May news conference, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league was waiting for permission to interview Hill for its own investigation. That directive stemmed from the DCF child welfare case, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said at the time.
There is a court proceeding still going on involving CPS, Child Protection Services, and we will not interfere with that, Goodell said then. The priority is this young child and so we will obviously be cooperative with whatever the court wants there. We are prepared to go ahead and have an interview whenever we have the permission to.
News surfaced in mid-March that Overland Park police took two reports at Hills Johnson County home, one for battery and the other for child abuse and neglect. The police reports, dated March 5 and March 14, involved a juvenile.
