The Inherent Conflict With Kareem Hunt
Kareem Hunt was an integral part of the offensive gameplan that enabled the Cleveland Browns to defeat the Buffalo Bills. He was an effective lead blocker for Nick Chubb, was utilized out wide on some quick passes and had a few carries. In all, he had 11 touches for 74 yards, but his impact was greater than that, between his blocking and the tactical advantages he creates being on the field.
Up 6-0 and driving down the field, Hunt got a carry inside the Bills 10 and it looked like it might have a crease to get to the end zone. My visceral reaction was hoping he'd get tackled and Chubb would score. Hunt was tackled at the 4 and the Bills kept the Browns out of the end zone.
Going into this game, I didn't know how I would react to seeing Hunt in a Browns uniform, given the nature of his suspension. I met Hunt at the Senior Bowl and he couldn't have been nicer. It was brief, just a minute or two, but he lit up at the mention of Willoughby South and someone else being from Ohio, recognizing him from there. Contrasting that with the rage he displayed in that Cleveland hotel, it's difficult to reconcile the two.
I know how good Hunt is. He was fantastic at Toledo and he's been great in the NFL. His actions in that moment were nothing short of monstrous and the Browns have put me in a position where all I can do is hope he's had an epiphany and truly changed who he is, because something like this ever happening again is unfathomable. It's a move I wouldn't have made, behavior I wouldn't have rewarded.
Rooting for a team while being conflicted about a player isn't a new feeling. Antonio Callaway is an example on the current roster, but it was closer to the surface with Hunt in this game. Perhaps the product of video and seeing the brutality involved as opposed to just reading about it, it was more difficult to ignore. And like with anything else, the more he's here, the more it's about Hunt the football player as the rest slowly fades into the background.
Everyone wants the Browns to win, to be successful. And if Kareem Hunt can help them get there, rationalizing his presence is easier to do. It's important to remember that whatever Hunt does, however great he might be for the Browns, there is a victim in that video. While everyone else was rooting for the Browns to beat the Bills, she was likely forced to relive what might be the worst night of her life.
