Getty Tyreek Hill in between plays against the Seattle Seahawks.
On April 25, recording clips between Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill and his fiancee, Crystal Espinal, were released by KCTV-5. On Tuesday, the full 11-minute recording was aired by 610 KCSP, a local Kansas City radio station.
In the recording, taken by Espinal, Hill is heard denying his role in the altercation that took place in 2014. The incident took place when Hill was a student at Oklahoma State. He was dismissed from the team following the allegations. Hill pleaded guilty to domestic assault and battery by strangulation in August 2015. The conviction was dismissed in August 2018 and expunged after Hill completed his probation requirements. Hill claims that Espinal ruined his life before recapping the events of the night.
“That makes me really mad, bro. You ruined my life in 2015, bro. And if you want to rewind that night, we can rewind that night, too. You was in my house, and did I pick you up and slam you? Hell no,” Hill said in the recording. “I picked you up and put you out my door and after that you left. And on my son, you did that, bro. And then when we were in the courtroom, you want to sit up there and (expletive) cry on the stand, ‘He hit me. He hit me’ Man, come on, bro.”
Hill did not know that he was being recorded at this moment in time. Espinal asks Hill repeatedly in the recording “where did the bruises come from?” Hill responds by asking “did I hit you?” Espinal then claims that Hill had his hands around her neck. Hill quickly denied. Hill made it clear that he does not believe that he did anything in the incident.
“I didn’t touch you in 2014. And put that on everything I love, bro. That’s the real truth.”
According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, NFL investigators and the Kansas City Chiefs have had access to this tape for months. Pelissero also said that the recording presented no new revelations from the league’s perspective in regards to its investigation. Hill met with the league on June 26 to answer questions about alleged child abuse towards his three-year old son. Hill and his attorney were asked to send a four-page letter to the NFL to state their points once again. In the letter, Hill denied almost all of the allegations made against him. He also apologized for harsh words in the original recordings.
Hill, who led the NFL in receiving yards in 2018, is expected to report to Chiefs’ training camp when it begins on July 26. He was banned from all team activities on April 26. Hill is still awaiting a decision from the NFL on whether or not he will be suspended for any amount of time during the regular season.
It is uncertain if the new recordings will help Hill avoid a suspension by the league. There is no timetable for when a decision will be made. The Chiefs will have to head into camp and prepare for the possibility of being without their speedy wide receiver.