In case anyone hadn't decided on the KC Star yet

[DJ's left nut]

They're doubling down and hiding behind an 'editorial board' byline so nobody has to put their name on this shit.

https://amp.kansascity.com/opinion/e...mpression=true

Now that the full 11-minute recording of Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill and his now former fiancee, Crystal Espinal, talking about violence in their relationship has been aired, many fans are saying wow, this changes everything.

It does? That Hill, who didn’t know Espinal was taping him, denies ever hitting her or their son in what he thought was a private conversation is neither surprising nor exculpatory.

Abusers typically tell not only the police but friends, family, therapists, priests and even themselves they’ve never done anything wrong.

And if anything, the fact that Hill now says he didn’t hit punch or choke Espinal in 2014 makes him look worse rather than better. He pleaded guilty to those charges, publicly apologized, went through extensive therapy and declared himself reformed after probation. If he’s now back to saying that none of this ever happened, that’s not just a lie but a worrying one.

“I didn’t touch you in 2014,” he says on the tape. “And put that on everything I love, bro. That’s the real truth.”

That Espinal isn’t screaming at him that no, it’s not the truth, real or otherwise, is taken by some supporters as proof that he is innocent.

But why a woman who has been injured by him before and he’s threatening to hurt again might not do that should be obvious.


When she instead repeatedly asks him where her bruises came from if he never hit her, he doesn’t answer because there isn’t an answer that he likes well enough to repeat.

On Thursday, Espinal filed a petition in Johnson County seeking a paternity test for their newborn twins. She has full custody of them — they live with her — and she is asking for child support and only supervised visits for Hill. Her lawyer in the matter is legal counsel for SAFEHOME, a Johnson County group that supports survivors of domestic violence.

The NFL, meanwhile, seems ready to let Hill off with a brief suspension because the legal case against him isn’t going anywhere, but these things are still true:

Hill’s son was removed from his home after a child abuse investigation was launched. The Johnson County district attorney said the 3-year-old child had been hurt, but he didn’t have enough proof to prosecute.

On the tape, we heard Hill threaten the mother of his children with physical violence: “You need to be scared of me, too, dumb bitch.” He berates and belittles, calls her “bro” and “bitch” and of course, claims she ruined his life.

Denial of all wrongdoing is so standard in abuse cases that just a look at Thursday’s Star provides other examples, including that of Scott Hacker, the now former Parkville police officer charged with domestic violence after allegedly shooting his gun inside his home, throwing the woman who called 911 onto the couch, grabbing her by the throat and blaming her for “ending his career” by calling for help. Both before and after the cops arrived, he said he hadn’t shot the gun or touched her. But oops: A security camera in the living room apparently recorded the assault.

What Espinal was trying to get was the audio equivalent of that video.

If the NFL lets Hill back on the field this season, it will send the message that making threats and showing you’ve learned nothing from probation is no real problem, as long as you can run fast enough. The help he needs is not more denial, but just the opposite.

To the rest of you who are intent on seeing Hill as the victim, KCTV as a villain for not immediately releasing the full tape, and Espinal as a “manipulator” for wanting evidence to back her up in court, we could suggest some reading on the well-researched subject of abuse. But why, when you seem to prefer not to know?

[DJ's left nut]

**** Sam's apology, I dont care anymore.

I'm straight up done with the Star.

[Prison Bitch]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

**** Sam's apology, I dont care anymore.

I'm straight up done with the Star.

Really surprised anyone didn’t drop the Red Star mid 90s

[Reerun_KC]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I'm straight up done with the Star.

/the90s

[Mecca]

The star is reddit and the national media......they are all saying it changes nothing and he's just gaslighting her.

[SAUTO]

i said in another thread that i cancelled my subscription (over 20 years) and sent my first e mail to let them know exactly why.

[BigRedChief]

What a crock of shit. They dont put a name on it, fine and dandy. That means this article represents the entire KC Star newspapers position on Hill.

[FAX]

So ... believe what we tell you and not your lying ears.

Got it.

FAX

[rabblerouser]

Yeah, the Star is just another shit rag.

They can go guck themselves.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

What the **** is up with the media in KC not being able to admit when they’ve done wrong? A much sounder approach than continuing to be stubborn and act like they can’t possibly make a mistake.

**** the Star with a long, fat meaty wang x a billion.

The writer of this in particular should be shot to Venus.

[Titty Meat]

The Star has been a liberal turd for years i wouldnt even use it to catch dog droppings

[ottawa_chiefs_fan]

Originally Posted by Titty Meat

The Star has been a liberal turd for years i wouldnt even use it to catch dog droppings

I am quite sure my dog would shit on it, given the chance.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by SAUTO

i said in another thread that i cancelled my subscription (over 20 years) and sent my first e mail to let them know exactly why.

Originally Posted by Reerun_KC

/the90s

Originally Posted by Titty Meat

The Star has been a liberal turd for years i wouldnt even use it to catch dog droppings

Y'all say that, but all of you read Terez. I bet you still read Mellinger and were even reading Prior's nonsense.

No more - it's time for us to stop giving them clicks, stop giving them pageviews. Chiefs fans need to get their Chiefs coverage - ALL of it - from somewhere else.

Let these guys know that their news isn't getting anyone's attention and it's the sports page that has been keeping them afloat. If they want to continue to antagonize the people that have been providing them that revenue, it's their prerogative.

But their bottom line won't appreciate their efforts.

Cut 'em out entirely. There are enough independent sources of information these days that you can get anything from them that you'd have gotten from a gamer from Prior or even the occasional 'insight' from Mellinger.

Be done with these assholes because it's the clicks that are enabling them to do this.

[Mecca]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Y'all say that, but all of you read Terez. I bet you still read Mellinger and were even reading Prior's nonsense.

No more - it's time for us to stop giving them clicks, stop giving them pageviews. Chiefs fans need to get their Chiefs coverage - ALL of it - from somewhere else.

Let these guys know that their news isn't getting anyone's attention and it's the sports page that has been keeping them afloat. If they want to continue to antagonize the people that have been providing them that revenue, it's their prerogative.

But their bottom line won't appreciate their efforts.

Cut 'em out entirely. There are enough independent sources of information these days that you can get anything from them that you'd have gotten from a gamer from Prior or even the occasional 'insight' from Mellinger.

Be done with these assholes because it's the clicks that are enabling them to do this.

We should, and the Chiefs should do all they can to pull back from the Star also. The damn beat reporter made racist remarks about a player and said "there's something off about him" yet they are saying he's the bad guy, uh huh.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Mecca

We should, and the Chiefs should do all they can to pull back from the Star also. The damn beat reporter made racist remarks about a player and said "there's something off about him" yet they are saying he's the bad guy, uh huh.

Yeah, I don't generally like to post complete articles because I think we owe it to content creators to give them their click.

But I posted the whole one here because I'm hopeful that this can be the end of that for many of us.

I was willing to maybe cut Mellinger a small amount of slack because he would at least acknowledge a couple of mistakes, even if he was unwilling to acknowledge all of them. But sorry Sam, you're just gonna have to be collateral damage here.

The behavior of the Star here is wholly unacceptable and they need to understand that.