The Kansas City Chiefs are set to play the Raiders on Sunday at Oakland Coliseum without star running back Kareem Hunt.
The NFL placed him on the commissioner's exempt list Friday evening after a video posted by TMZ went viral earlier that day. It shows Hunt shoving and then kicking a woman during a Feb. 10 incident at a Cleveland apartment hotel.
Hunt will not be allowed to practice or play with the Chiefs while on the commissioner's exempt list, though he will continue getting paid. The NFL could levy further punitive action concluding an investigation opened in Feburary.
The league's official statement defined rules of the commissioner's exempt list and then concluded by stating, "The NFL's investigation, which began immediately following the incident in February, will include a review of the new information that was made public today."
Multiple reports state that, despite attempts to do so, neither the Chiefs nor the NFL had seen a video that shows Hunt, a female victim and several others in an argument that spilled into a hallway. Things got physical at that point, after which Hunt shoves the woman, pushes another man into her and eventually Hunts kicks her while she's on the ground.
KC Chiefs Running Back Kareem Hunt Brutalizes and Kicks Woman in Hotel Video https://t.co/W2I48zqUr2— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) November 30, 2018
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No charges were filed and Hunt was not arrested after the incident, but two police reports were filed. TMZ also posted bodycam videos of the woman and Hunt offering different versions of the what happened that night.
The Chiefs were aware of the altercation, which was reported by several media outlets, and CEO Clark Hunt said this summer he did not expect NFL discipline for Hunt.
That was before the video surfaced. A suspension seems likely. The NFL standard for domestic violence incidents, even without charges or convictions, is six games without pay
Kareem Hunt was at practice on Friday, but ESPN reports the Chiefs sent the star running back home from the team facility shortly after the video appeared online.
The Chiefs have not made a formal statement about the incident.
Former 49ers linebacker Rueben Foster, for example, was placed on the commissioner's list following his domestic violence arrest last week in Tampa, preventing him from playing this week after Washington claimed him off waivers.
That's where Kareem Hunt finds himself now.
The Raiders were on the practice field when the video spread, but became aware of it once they reached the locker room.
Head coach Jon Gruden didn't want to speak on Hunt during his Friday media session.
"I don't really have a comment. I haven't seen anything," Gruden said. "This is the first time I've really thought about it. I don't want to say anything other than that."
Spencer Ware would be Kansas City's primary rusher if Hunt is not allowed to play.
