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?

[Mecca]

Originally Posted by Eleazar

He could have decided not to contest the charges while maintaining his innocence. He didn't do that. He admitted guilt.

If that is what you are going to hold to then I guess all those people that were wrongly sent to prison should shut the **** up huh?

You can sit there and say that fine, if you were in that spot you can't tell me you wouldn't have taken that deal.

[rabblerouser]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath15

IIRC, didn't he sign a statement that only admitted guilt to putting her in a headlock as he was trying to remove her from the apartment?

Yeah, and he ran out of money, so he took a plea deal that actually got the charge expunged...so in reality, it's like it never actually happened.

So for anyone who doesn't understand what that means, it means that, according to the letter of the law, he never plead to shit.

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

Hill is not going to be punished for the 2014 incident. It’s over and done with and won’t come into play despite the continued assault on Hill from the media. So we are back to just the recent stuff, which really isn’t much, hence the reason they are bringing up the 2014 stuff again. They are trying to justify their overall bad reporting.

Very valid point.

[Mecca]

2014 is being brought up repeatedly because it's a deflection, the initial shit they reported has nothing left to stand on so they have to do what they can to still prove "hey we're still right because he's a bad person"

[rabblerouser]

Originally Posted by Eleazar

He could have decided not to contest the charges while maintaining his innocence. He didn't do that. He admitted guilt.

It was expunged.

According to the letter of the law, he did not.

He took a plea to get that shit expunged from his record.

I know, that's not a very "newsworthy" part of the story...

[RollChiefsRoll]

Originally Posted by Eleazar

He could have decided not to contest the charges while maintaining his innocence. He didn't do that. He admitted guilt.

You say that as though you know for certain the local prosecutors in his case were willing to offer a no-admission plea. Do you know that?

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by rabblerouser

It was expunged.

According to the letter of the law, he did not.

He took a plea to get that shit expunged from his record.

I know, that's not a very "newsworthy" part of the story...

No shit.

"All I have to do is go 3 years without getting in trouble and it gets legally expunged like it never happened vs taking a chance at a trial?"

"Where do I sign?"

[OnTheWarpath15]

Originally Posted by RollChiefsRoll

You say that as though you know for certain the local prosecutors in his case were willing to offer a no-admission plea. Do you know that?

Beat me to it.

[Mecca]

If you were him, would anyone here trust the legal system and jurors to do right by you?

[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.

[rabblerouser]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

No shit.

"All I have to do is go 3 years without getting in trouble and it gets legally expunged like it never happened vs taking a chance at a trial?"

"Where do I sign?"

Exactly.

[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.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by Mecca

2014 is being brought up repeatedly because it's a deflection, the initial shit they reported has nothing left to stand on so they have to do what they can to still prove "hey we're still right because he's a bad person"

This is exactly correct. After the full audio was released my first post was to suggest people be happy he likely wasn’t a monster in 2014 as portrayed but to leave it be at that because I could see that discussion distracting from the recent allegations, which look better and better for Hill.

The initial cut of audio was to make the recent stuff look worst for Hill, which we shouldn’t forget because that’s the only reason they cut it that way. The full audio clearly doesn’t support what they wanted people to believe initially so now the 2014 stuff is all they have. The 2014 is no longer really important though, therefore they have basically nothing to justify how bad they have made Hill look.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath15

Need DJ or one of the other resident Legal Eagles to respond:

Are there other possible reasons for a prosecutor to offer a plea bargain OTHER than because they don't have a terribly strong case?

I mean, if his guilt is so obvious, why are they offering him anything?

Sincerely,

Legal Dummy

Caseload.

Even a strong case takes time/effort/resources to make if the guy on the other side wants to dig his heels in and make you go to trial. Even a fairly straightforward jury trial takes a day to conduct and several days to prepare.

Meanwhile, you can plea that thing out and draw up the paperwork in an hour. Now you've bought probably 16-18 hours you can throw at someone who WON'T accept a plea or who's engaged in even more damning behavior.

It's all about volume.

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by Mecca

2014 is being brought up repeatedly because it's a deflection, the initial shit they reported has nothing left to stand on so they have to do what they can to still prove "hey we're still right because he's a bad person"

2014 event should absolutely be brought up because it is very relevant after hearing the extended version of the tape.

The problem is that the Star won’t do what’s right and report that Tyreek might actually be innocent due to this new information. They are just sticking to their agenda to paint him as a bad person despite evidence of the contrary.

I seriously hope Tyreek and many other players don’t talk to the Star or KCTV5 in the locker room.