The Kansas City Chiefs have been endlessly linked with a reunion for Tyreek Hill this offseason. Especially after the team’s top deep threat, 26-year old former New England Patriot Tyquan Thornton, suffered a gruesome ankle injury that will keep him out for what will likely be the rest of the regular season.
However, Hill is also in the middle of a civil court case bought against him by his ex-wife Lakeeta Vaccaro Hill, who alleges that the 32-year old physically abused her whilst they were together, including an allegation that he hit her belly whilst she was pregnant with their child.
On Tuesday, Vaccaro Hill shared testimony against her former husband and on Thursday, Hill himself testified under oath as to what he claims happened between the pair.
Although the former five-time All-Pro denied hitting his ex-wife in the stomach whilst she was pregnant, he did admit to threatening her by saying he could “get people to hurt her”, alongside another physical incident between the pair.
Tyreek Hill Admits to Threatening, Pushing Wife in Testimony
“Tyreek Hill admitted to telling her he could “get people to hurt her” and said he once pressed her against a wall with such force that he “created a hole in the wall.”….Hill said he never swiped at Vaccaro Hill’s pregnant stomach, as she alleged. He also denied ever grabbing her hair, throwing her to the ground, shoving her, restraining or twisting her breasts, as she alleged.” Adam Kilgore reported for The Athletic on Thursday.
Hill alleged that his pushing up of Vaccaro Hill came in response to her trying to “seduce” him, per Kilgore.
Although he denies some of the more severe allegations against him, Hill’s two admissions alone in court essentially force the NFL’s hand, especially given that the league have been very lenient on his array of personal issues in the past.
The second in particular, given he pushed her hard enough to create a hole in the wall – per his own words – will have to be seen as a form of domestic abuse. And that is assuming he is found not guilty in the civil court of doing the further physical abuses Vaccaro Hill alleges he has committed against her.
Will it Be Worth it For the Chiefs to Sign Tyreek Hill?
Six games is the minimum suspension, but if he is found guilty in civil court, then pending the NFL’s own investigation that number could rise to eight games or possibly more. Considering that Hill is due to be ready to play sometime in mid-November, that could potentially see him being ineligible to play until Championship Weekend or even the Super Bowl.
If he is slapped with a suspension around that length; something that feels more and more likely the longer this court case continues; the Chiefs will have to think long and hard whether the negative press, roster spot and financial implications will be worth it for potentially just a couple of games worth of action.
Particularly if Thornton returns to the team by then.
Tyreek Hill’s Admission Places Chiefs Reunion in Jeopardy Amid Suspension Talks