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Cleveland Browns sign Kareem Hunt two months after video shows him kicking woman

Hunt is still suspended indefinitely as he goes back on the commissioner's exempt list until the NFL decides on discipline.
Credit: AP
FILE - In this Nov. 19, 2018, file photo, Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt warms up before an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, in Los Angeles. The Cleveland Browns have signed Kareem Hunt, the running back cut by Kansas City in November after a video showed him pushing and kicking a woman the previous February. Cleveland general manager John Dorsey, who drafted Hunt while working for Kansas City, on Monday, Feb. 11, 2019, said the Browns "fully understand and respect the complexity of questions and issues in signing a player with Kareem's history and do not condone his actions." (AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo, File)

CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Browns have signed former Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt two months after the Chiefs cut him following the release of a Cleveland hotel's surveillance footage that showed Hunt kicking a woman.

Hunt is suspended indefinitely by the NFL. Now that he has been signed by a team, he goes on to the commissioner's exempt list until the league makes a decision on discipline.

Charges were not filed against Hunt in the incident. But the Chiefs released him because the team said he was not truthful with them about what happened.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said before the Super Bowl the league's investigation into Hunt should be done soon. The league is investigating three off-the-field incidents involving Hunt.

Browns general manager John Dorsey was the GM in Kansas City in 2017 when the Chiefs drafted Hunt out of Toledo in the third round of the NFL Draft.

Below is the full statement from Dorsey Monday after announcing the signing of Hunt: 

“My relationship and interaction with Kareem since 2016 in college was an important part of this decision making process but we then did extensive due diligence with many individuals, including clinical professionals, to have a better understanding of the person he is today and whether it was prudent to sign him. There were two important factors: one is that Kareem took full responsibility for his egregious actions and showed true remorse and secondly, just as importantly, he is undergoing and is committed to necessary professional treatment and a plan that has been clearly laid out.

“We fully understand and respect the complexity of questions and issues in signing a player with Kareem’s history and do not condone his actions. Given what we know about Kareem through our extensive research, we believe he deserves a second chance but certainly with the understanding that he has to go through critical and essential steps to become a performing member of this organization, aside from what the NFL determines from their ongoing investigation. We fully understand that Kareem is subject to discipline by the NFL. Here at the Browns, there is a detailed plan with expectations laid out that he understands and must follow, because any similar incident will not be tolerated. We will support Kareem through this process and utilize our resources, however permitted, to help him become successful on and off the field as long as he continues to show the commitment necessary to represent this organization.”

Kareem Hunt released the following statement Monday:

"First off, I would like to once again apologize for my actions last year. What I did was wrong and inexcusable. That is not the man I was raised to be, and I've learned a great deal from that experience and certainly should have been more truthful about it after the fact. I'm extremely grateful that John Dorsey, Dee and Jimmy Haslam and the Cleveland Browns organization are granting me the opportunity to earn their trust and represent their organization in the best way possible on and off the field. I am committed to following the necessary steps to learn and to be a better and healthier person from this situation. I also understand the expectations that the Browns have clearly laid out and that I have to earn my way back to the NFL. I'm a work in progress as a person, but I'm committed to taking advantage of the support systems that I have in place to become the best and healthier version of myself." 

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