NFL owners are 'irate' that the league never spoke to Kareem Hunt while investigating a physical altercation he had with a woman

Andy Clayton-King/AP

• A disturbing video of former Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt shoving and kicking a woman during an off-season altercation surfaced Friday.
• The Chiefs acted swiftly in releasing Hunt and claimed that he lied during their investigation into the incident.
• In an interview with ESPN's Lisa Salters, Hunt confirmed that he had not been truthful with his former team when they investigated him and said that the NFL itself never questioned him about the assault.
• According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, a handful of NFL owners "are irate" that the league failed to question Hunt after the incident took place.

A disturbing video surfaced Friday of former Kansas City Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt shoving and kicking a woman during an off-season altercation in Cleveland, Ohio.

The incident resulted in more than just Hunt's likely expulsion from the NFL as questions emerge regarding the league's mishandling of yet another violent assault case involving a player.

The Chiefs promptly released the Pro Bowler after they claimed Hunt lied during the team's investigation into the incident, which took place back in February. In an interview with ESPN's Lisa Salters, Hunt apologized for his actions before confirming that he had lied when the team interrogated him about the altercation.

Read more: Kansas City Chiefs release star running back Kareem Hunt saying he was 'not truthful' about altercation with woman

When it came to the league itself, however, Hunt claimed that NFL officials never questioned him or asked him to discuss the incident. ESPN's Adam Schefter later confirmed that the league never sought to interrogate Hunt and failed to speak with the woman he assaulted despite multiple attempts to contact her.

Schefter also reported that the NFL and Kansas City failed to obtain the video of the incident before TMZ's Friday afternoon release.

Shortly after the video became public, the NFL placed Hunt on the Commissioner's Exempt list, barring him from practicing, playing, or attending games with the team. Still, the league's reactive response to the video despite having opened an investigation into the incident back in February has prompted criticism from fans, pundits, and NFL owners themselves.

Sources told Schefter that some of the most powerful men in the league were furious about the NFL's handling of the incident. Specifically, owners were "irate" that the league failed to interview Hunt after learning of the altercation.

The NFL released a statement Sunday detailing its plans to continue investigating the confrontation involving Hunt, but many, like the NFL owners, argued that the league's actions have once again come too late.

Teams can claim Hunt from the waiver wires beginning Monday afternoon, but Schefter reports that multiple NFL executives across the league expressed skepticism that any franchise would pursue him. That being said, the Washington Redskins' decision to claim former San Francisco 49ers linebacker Reuben Foster off of the waivers after his domestic violence arrest came as a surprise to many industry insiders. 

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