Jimmy Haslam On Kareem Hunt Incident: “Not Acceptable”

Kareem Hunt can’t afford mistakes.

The Cleveland Browns running back was pulled over by the Rocky River Police Department on a cold January 21st on I-90 West at the Hilliard Blvd. exit. 

Hunt was pulled over for speeding and the officer found marijuana and an open container of Vodka in the car. 

WATCH: Kareem Hunt’s bombshell police video, open vodka container & drug confession pic.twitter.com/D6LYnjCIJx

— TMZ Sports (@TMZ_Sports) January 27, 2020

On Wednesday, owner Jimmy Haslam spoke about the incident for the first time and he was not happy with the 24-year old.

“Not Acceptable” 

Andrew Berry was supposed to be recognized as the league’s youngest general manager. 

Instead, Hunt stole some of the spotlight. 

At team headquarters in Berea, Haslam said that “what he did was not acceptable” and “he’s got to do better.”

“It’s not good,” Haslam said to reporters. “Kareem knows he has to do better. Kevin and Andrew have talked to him about it, and I’ll just leave it at that. 

Even though Haslam was disappointed, he expressed that the team still wants Hunt back next season.

“We have and will continue to work closely with Kareem, but he knows our expectations are higher than what he showed a week or two ago,” Haslam said. “If Kareem can follow the expectations that we have laid out for him, (he will be back).” 

Stefanski’s Take

Head coach Kevin Stefanski was at the podium and he expressed Hunt understands the expectations moving forward. 

“Every situation is different, but certainly, with every player, we’re going to have standards of how we behave when we’re not in this building and when we are in this building. I think Kareem understands that, and we’re going to move forward with him understanding where I stand on all those matters.”

Stefanski added that he believes in second chances. 

“I believe in second chances, but we’ll be very smart in the people we identify out there that we want to bring into this building.”

Andrew Berry’s Take

The way that the new Browns Gm talked, he appears ready to bring Hunt back. 

“We want guys who are going to be smart, tough and accountable, on and off the field,” Berry said. “Kareem understands that and we’re looking forward to him meshing with our culture moving forward.” 

Hunt rushed for 179 yards and hauled in 285 receiving yards and three touchdowns. 

He missed eight games due to suspension. 

In 2017, he rushed for 1,327 yards and as the NFL’s leading rusher. 

Despite the incident, Berry appears ready to have Hunt for a full season with the NFL’s rushing runner-up in Nick Chubb. 

Final Thoughts

A lot of these comments sound like the Browns personnel are just trying to brush this over. 

Especially, the head coach. 

What Stefanski should know already is that is not his first-second chance. 

Hunt was suspended for half of the season last year after a video surfaced of him pushing and kicking a woman in November 2018. 

Sure, the idea of having Chubb and Hunt on the same field for a full season sounds appealing but this looks like the team is playing with fire. 

If the brass is true to their word about establishing culture, they better get a handle on this guy.