Kansas City Chiefs receiver Tyreek Hill spoke briefly with media at the Chiefs’ training camp Saturday and clarified reports that he punched his 3-year-old son in the chest.

“Punching my son in the chest that would probably refer to me teaching my son how to box. We do have boxing gloves at our house and our son he likes Iron-Man. So he loves Iron Man and Aquaman, and he’s like, ‘Daddy, daddy come on’ all the time. So, that’s what it is,” he said. 

Local authorities opened a child abuse investigation into both Hill and his ex-girlfriend, Crystal Espinal, earlier this year after Espinal accused Hill of abusing their son and allegedly breaking his arm. 

 

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Love you guys !!! Cheetah out ⁉️⁉️⁉️✌??

A post shared by Tyreek Hill (@cheetah) on Jul 19, 2019 at 9:59am PDT

Kansas prosecutors recently confirmed that Hill was no longer under investigation and no charges were filed against him. The NFL also decided not to suspend Hill after completing their own investigation.

“Sometimes things get thrown out of context when feelings get involved and emotions,” Hill said. “But, I’m not going to get into all of that right now.”

Hill also addressed the language he used in the leaked audio, stating, “I don’t want nobody talking to my little sister, my daughter that I have now, my mom like that. It’s very disrespectful.” 

He continued, “I mean, my mom got onto me, like she thumped me in the ear, like, Come on, man, Reek. Come on, grow up, grow up out of it. So, never again. Like I said, I’m growing as a human being, as a person. Never again.”

Tyreek Hill, accused of punching his 3-year-old son in the chest, says he was just teaching him how to box #Chiefs pic.twitter.com/Ap7fpRuw0m

— Kevin Boilard (@247KevinBoilard) July 28, 2019

The NFL found that “based on the evidence presently available,” Hill did not violate the league’s personal conduct policy. The Chiefs issued a statement moments after the announcement, stating Hill is expected to begin training camp next week.

The Chiefs “have decided it is appropriate for Tyreek to return to the team at the start of training camp,” which begins July 27.

“The club fully supports the conditions for return laid out by the league and will continue to monitor any new developments in the case,” the Chiefs’ statement read. 

Mentioned in the NFL’s statement, the guidelines include “conditions set forth by the District Court, Commissioner (Roger) Goodell, and the Chiefs, which include clinical evaluation and therapeutic intervention.”

According to USA Today, The Chiefs suspended Hill on April 25 after excerpts from a conversation between Hill and his then-fiancée, Crystal Espinal, were made public. In that initial clip, Espinal accused Hill of breaking their 3-year-old son’s arm.

League investigators interviewed family members of both Hill and Espinal; Espinal herself declined multiple requests to talk to league investigators. Due to the victim being a minor, meaning police and court records are confidential, the investigation was made a little harder to stick.

Johnson County district attorney Stephen M. Howe said in an April statement that prosecutors “believe that a crime has occurred, but the evidence, in this case, does not conclusively establish who committed the crime against this child.” He continued, “Criminal cases must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt by admissible evidence, not speculation, rumor or hearsay.”

Hill said in a recent tweet that the last few months “have been very difficult for me, especially as a father.” But the NFL player also gave praises to his family and fans, thanked the NFL and Commissioner Goodell.

“I am grateful for so many things and grateful for so many people who have supported me during this challenging time,” Hill said. “I fully respect and accept the NFL’s decision.”

Chiefs player Tyreek Hill has been barred from team activities after a video leaked of Hill discussing his son’s broken arm with his fiancée Crystal Espinal.

This Thursday, KCTV aired a recorded conversation between Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill and his fiancée, arguing over how their 3-year-old son hurt his arm. KCTV reports the two were discussing the logistics of how the boy hurt his arm in relation to what they were going to tell police. The recording is believed to have been recorded earlier in March when the couple was walking through Dubai’s international airport. KCTV5 was told the tape was an “insurance policy” for Espinal.

In the 11-minute recording, Espinal says their son said Hill is the one responsible for the alleged abuse. “A 3-year-old is not going to lie about what happened to his arm,” the woman says. “He is terrified of you. “ Hill replies, “You need to be terrified of me, too.” After the first round of the NFL draft concluded Thursday night, Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach said in a statement that Hill is barred from all team activities. “We are going to continue to gather information, and we will make the right decision,” Veach said. Espinal sent it to at least one friend because she didn’t feel she could keep a recording on her phone.

Local authorities have yet to release the details of the investigation. The Kansas City Star reports the boy suffered a broken arm. In the video, Hill denies hitting the child, and the woman accuses Hill of whipping the boy with a belt as punishment. But Hill responds saying Espinal has also used a belt on their son. Espinal also appears to suggest she helped Hill evade criminal charges. “I rode for you against that detective and the C.P.S. people,” she said.  On Wednesday, Johnson County (Kan.) District Attorney Steve Howe announced he would not charge Hill or Espinal but said he believed a crime had occurred, The Washington Post reports.

On Thursday, police were called to Hill’s home at around 8:30 pm following the recording’s leak. Hill currently has a “no contact” order with his 3-year-old son.

According to Bleacher Report, news surfaced of the investigation on Friday, but Johnson County District Attorney, Steve Howe, refused to provide further information before the investigation was complete. However, despite the D.A.’s refusal to provide additional details, the Kansas City Star reported that both the police and the Department of Children and Families were looking into an incident that reportedly left Hill’s three-year-old son with a broken arm. 

In fact, in a police report obtained by the publication – dated March 5 – Hill and his fiancee, Crystal Espinal, were listed in a report as “others involved” on an allegation of child abuse or neglect. However, neither party was charged in that case. 

In another incident report from March 14, which focused on battery as an alleged crime against a “juvenile” victim, Espinal was the only party listed under “others involved.” But, according to the publication, in Kansas, usually only the front page of a police report is released in an ongoing investigation, and “information about suspects or other details of an investigation are often located on the back page of the report or on subsequent pages that are not typically open to the public.” 

In the meantime, the Kansas City Chiefs have confirmed their knowledge of the situation.