Super Bowl LIV: Chiefs have scary history of abuse charges against players

The 49ers aren’t the only ones with the potential of ruining the Kansas City Chiefs’ first Super Bowl experience in 50 years next week in Miami.

When the horde of media descends upon South Florida for Super Bowl 54 there may be plenty of uncomfortable questions about the Chiefs’ dark past. (And we’re not talking about the near-catastrophic dislocated kneecap uber-talented quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered earlier this season).

With cameras, phones, recorders and notepads waiting to be filled with juicy content, there’s a sinister subject that’s been shoved into a corner for most of the Chiefs’ stellar season that could be brought out again: The organization’s ugly history with domestic violence.

They’ve had a litany of arrests and charges for mistreatment of women and even children over the past 20 years. Only the Broncos have had more arrests and charges than the Chiefs’ nine during that span, according to USA Today.

From star receiver Tyreek Hill to standout defensive end Frank Clark, there are still reminders on the roster of seven-year Chiefs coach Andy Reid’s willingness to bring in difference-making players even if they’ve had alarming off-field issues.

“As long as people go through the right process, they deserve a second chance,” Reid has been fond of saying over the years.

This is the same man who, while coaching the Eagles, gave Michael Vick a second chance in 2009 when no one else would after the quarterback killed multiple dogs while participating in an illegal dog fighting scheme.

Reid certainly is not the only coach in the NFL willing to bring in players with past allegations of off-field violence. Look no further than the 49ers, who led the league in arrests (not charges) from 2012 to at least 2018.

The team kept giving Reuben Foster chances after he was arrested and charged with attacking his girlfriend. San Francisco kept Ray McDonald, Ahmad Brooks, Bruce Miller and Aldon Smith on the team throughout their various legal troubles, much of which was violent in nature.

Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch came to Santa Clara in 2017 and vowed to clean up the 49ers — and aside from one last chance for Foster, they have.

In April Reid and the Chiefs nearly did the same, almost cutting ties with the speedy and talented Hill after a troubling revelation. Hill, whom the Chiefs stole in the fifth round of the 2016 draft after he pleaded guilty to punching and choking his pregnant girlfriend while at Oklahoma State, was barred from the team this spring. That came after an audio recording suggested he broke his 3-year-old’s arm while disciplining him. The recording included Hill warning his fiancee (the same woman he battered in college) to be “terrified” of him.

However, two months later the criminal investigation into Hill’s role was discontinued when the District Attorney of Jackson County in Kansas announced they weren’t able to prove how the Chiefs star’s son was injured.

The favorable outcome led a contrite Hill to publicly apologize for the trouble: “I can assure you that I will continue to work to be the person, player, and teammate that you envisioned me to be.”

Reid and the Chiefs also acquired Clark, who came to Kansas City via Seattle in the off-season as the replacement for edge rusher Dee Ford, who was dealt to the 49ers. To be fair, Clark has avoided trouble since joining the NFL four years ago. But while at the University of Michigan, Clark was kicked off the team after being arrested on first-degree domestic violence and assault after an incident with his girlfriend. Clark’s charges were later reduced to fourth-degree disorderly conduct.

Including Hill, the Chiefs over the past two years have had three players suspended for domestic violence, including:

• Star running back Kareem Hunt, who was released in November of 2018 after videotape surfaced of him kicking a woman who was on the ground in the hallway of a Cleveland hotel. The NFL suspended Hunt for eight games and he’s since resurfaced with the Cleveland Browns.
• Backup defensive tackle Roy Miller, who was arrested in November of 2017 in Jacksonville, Fla. on a domestic violence charge. A police report said his wife had marks on her face and neck. Two days later, the Chiefs released Miller, who was later suspended by the NFL for six games. But no team has since signed him.

A further look at the Chiefs’ rap sheet over the years also shows comparatively safer gambles on players such as current wide receiver Mecole Hardman and ex-Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters, both recipients of second chances.

The 21-year-old Hardman, a Pro Bowl return man in his rookie season, was labeled a troublemaker by some colleges and pro teams for a series of homophobic tweets he sent over a five-year period as a teenager. Hardman has caused no issues since apologizing for his insensitivity as a kid.

Peters, meanwhile, had been kicked out of school at the University of Washington for fighting with a coach. The Oakland-born standout became a star early with the Chiefs before his altercation with ex-defensive coordinator Bob Sutton prompted Kansas City to trade him two years ago.

Chiefs owner Clark Hunt, whose late father, Lamar, founded the Chiefs in 1963, earlier this year defended his team’s vetting process of players over the years.

“I think on every player that you bring into the organization that there is some element of risk,” Clark told reporters. “It could be his playing ability. It could be things that distract them off the field, as well as trouble they get into — that’s a risk you could take. It’s something that, as a franchise, we have to be willing to own when it doesn’t go the right way, and that’s something that I believe.”

Things went horribly wrong with one of Hunt’s players on Dec. 1, 2012 in one of the most haunting episodes in NFL history. Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher, who had been accused of beating the mother of his child, wound up shooting and killing the woman. Belcher then drove to Chiefs headquarters to apologize to team officials before killing himself in front of them.