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?

[Hammock Parties]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I'm down for a banner donation or like cause.

And I'm betting security won't be chasing folks around the stadium for handing out flyers this time either....

There really should be some righteous anger from the fanbase for this shit...

if this shit don't stop i know the perfect group to go picketing them bitches

[CaliforniaChief]

Fire up the planes.

[BlackOp]

Holy **** are they stupid...haha.

This HAS to be a top-down agenda...like owners of the newspaper.

They arent getting anywhere near the Chiefs players this season...Chunt is going to tell them to go **** themselves...along with the entire city.

This is suicide...borderline insane.

I've never seen anything like it...unless they are worried about getting sued.

[FAX]

I'm in on an airplane rental, if that's the decision ...

But the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of offering a bounty on canceled Star subs. Dedicating the bounty money to a charity and the like.

It's direct. It's easy to understand. It hits the target in the soft spot.

FAX

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by BlackOp

Holy **** are they stupid...haha.

This HAS to be a top-down agenda...like owners of the newspaper.

They arent getting anywhere near the Chiefs players this season...Chunt is going to tell them to go **** themselves...along with the entire city.

This is suicide...borderline insane.

I've never seen anything like it...unless they are worried about getting sued.

If I am Clark and Andy I would tell the KC Star the only way they are getting into Arrowhead is on Sunday with a ticket. I would yank their press passes for the entire time Reek is a Chief.

[BlackOp]

Originally Posted by petegz28

If I am Clark and Andy I would tell the KC Star the only way they are getting into Arrowhead is on Sunday with a ticket. I would yank their press passes for the entire time Reek is a Chief.

Man o man..they actually printed this today.

Wow...this is another-level ****ed up.

Can anyone say now that they are proud of Hill’s behavior, or that he has reflected well on our community? That he did nothing wrong?

“You need to be terrified of me, too, dumb bitch,” he told his then-fiancee, Crystal Espinal, in a conversation that she recorded. On that tape, Hill does not directly dispute a claim that he had punched his son in the chest.

We do know this: In March, someone in that home hurt a child. That’s beyond tragic. Saving the 4-year-old boy from further injury is the only outcome that matters now, and the only way to find redemption in the sordid, unacceptable Tyreek Hill affair.

The god damn doctors determined his broken arm in an accident...and there is no mention of a potential extortion ploy. They just went right to the "terrified" sentence taken out of context.

I've never seen a local newspaper try to do something like this...they've lost their minds.

[RealSNR]

Apparently with the anonymous "editorial board" penning all this shit, they're doubling down in protecting their employees Pryor and Rosen.

Their employees obviously no longer feel comfortable talking about the shit they ****ing started, so now this dipshitty board of editors feels the need to take over and say the shit they're fine with their employees spewing out of their fat mouths.

They think of the verbal backlash Pryor and others receive for penning this utter crap, so by penning it behind the opinions of a collective board, it's harder for readers to express their displeasure.

Fine then. We'll form a "board of readers" and we're writing with our wallets that the journalists at the KC Star need to be immediately suspended from their jobs for the rest of their lives.

[jettio]

I am sure that Cristal Espinal calls herself a dumb bitch every time she sees somebody quoting a recording that she was deceitful enough to make and stupid enough to trust with a friend who was stupid enough to release it to the media.

[007]

Originally Posted by Hammock Parties

if this shit don't stop i know the perfect group to go picketing them bitches

Westboro Baptist church

[TambaBerry]

I'd go picket the ****ing star if anyone wants to join

[Tribal Warfare]

Originally Posted by DaFace

It's almost tempting to put a url filter in place to ensure that they don't get clicks from here.

do it, IMO anymore it's like typing bundle of sticks on here

[siberian khatru]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

You realize they don't care, right?

That's the problem. They think you're a mindless rube. A dipshit midwestern wife-beater who sits at home surrounded by empty beer cans and kicks your pets/children/women when you run out of Busch heavy.

They get your emails and laugh at you. If anything has become apparent here it's that they WANT your anger. When they get it, they believe they're right.

This is true.

[IowaHawkeyeChief]

Originally Posted by DaFace

It's almost tempting to put a url filter in place to ensure that they don't get clicks from here.

YES, or ban anyone to the RR for posting a link to this rag...

This is ridiculous.

[FloridaMan88]

My e-mail to Colleen McCain Nelson, KC Star Editorial Page Editor:

Dear Ms. Nelson,

As a digital subscriber to the KC Star, I am very disappointed with the KC Star Editorial Board’s recent coverage of the Tyreek Hill situation.

It seems the Editorial Board is more interested in advocating for a narrative… that Tyreek Hill is a violent abuser of his ex fiancé and son, that is not supported by facts or the reality of the situation.

The facts of the situation with Tyreek Hill’s son are:

1) An extensive law enforcement investigation could not determine if the injury to Tyreek Hill’s son was caused by abuse. They could also not determine if Tyreek Hill caused the injury (Tyreek Hill has denied he caused the injury).

2) The NFL, after an extensive investigation which included an 8+ hour interview with Tyreek Hill, conducted by Lisa Friel, the former chief of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit, could not find conclusive evidence that Tyreek Hill committed any wrong doing to justify disciplinary action.

The KC Star Editorial Board is also apparently unwilling to consider the reality of racial disparities in the plea-bargaining system where lower income African Americans are more likely to be forced into accepting guilty plea bargains… even if they are in fact innocent, because they cannot afford the necessary legal representation to actively seek their innocence.

This is applicable when reviewing Tyreek Hill’s 2014 domestic violence guilty plea, as he was a low income African American at the time who was being accused of a crime by a white female with powerful connections in the Oklahoma State University community (her father and godfather are former Oklahoma State athletes).

The Tyreek Hill situation is complex and it provided an opportunity for a robust objective investigation by the KC Star and other media outlets. Instead the KC Star has decided to advocate for the guilt of Tyreek Hill and ignore facts.

I recognize that the role of the Editorial Board is to provide opinion, however your opinion should be in the context of facts, and not based on advocating for personal initiatives. The fact you are the KC Star Editorial Page Editor and also in the Hall of Fame of the KU Emily Taylor Center for Women & Gender Equity… an advocacy group whose stated mission is to “practice intersectional trans-inclusive feminism”, calls into question your true motivations and agenda with the Editorial Board's Tyreek Hill articles.

Your personal agenda-driven reporting is just one of multiple examples of the Kansas City media displaying a blatant lack of journalistic integrity/responsibility, including:

1) The KC Star’s Chiefs beat writer, Brooke Pryor stating on the “Helmets and Heels” radio show on 92.5 FM in Jacksonville, FL, on April 20th that “when she first met Tyreek and started talking with him at training camp, just knowing the background that he had, I just had this— something just felt off. And it’s hard to describe, but it’s just one of those feelings you get in your gut and you can’t quite put a finger on it”. Do you find it appropriate for Brooke Pryor as a professional reporter to publicly proclaim her personal discomfort for a professional athlete simply based on a “feeling in her gut”?

2) Sam Mellinger, sports columnist for the KC Star wrote a recent column admitting that he made a mistake in not questioning the context of the audio recording conversation between Tyreek Hill and his fiancé. Mellinger wrote in a column on July 10th: “I regret not asking the right questions, not stepping back and thinking from a broader perspective, and any further mangling of an already delicate situation this may be caused. I tend to write from the heart, and it usually serves me well. I also need to remember when to pump the brakes. I’ll get better from this”. Perhaps you should use Mr. Mellinger’s words as guidance for a self reflection of your own journalistic integrity.

3) KCTV5 investigative reporter Angie Ricono on April 25th indicating in a tweet that she did not release the full, 11 minute audio recording conversation between Tyreek Hill and his fiancé because it was not “newsworthy”.

In this era where journalistic integrity is more important than ever as the line between facts/reality and opinion/advocacy is continuing to be blurred, you and your Kansas City media colleagues have failed your audience.

[notorious]