Thursday, April 25, 2019
Associated Press
KANSAS CITY
The Kansas City Chiefs have made a habit of inciting controversy during the NFL draft in the Andy Reid era by acquiring players that have a history of off-the-field issues.
This year, they didn’t even wait until the draft.
The Chiefs swung a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Seahawks on Tuesday to acquire pass rusher Frank Clark for a package of picks, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press. The two sides then reached an agreement on a $105.5 million, five-year contract that was contingent on Clark passing a physical, which was expected to be completed Wednesday.
The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal, which sent the Chiefs’ first-round pick this year and a second-rounder next year to Seattle, had not become official.
That didn’t stop fans, talk-radio hosts and people from just about every walk of life in Kansas City from debating the merits of bringing in yet another player with baggage.
The team took a chance on cornerback Marcus Peters, who was traded away after getting into trouble with coaches. It drafted running back Kareem Hunt, then quickly cut him when he kicked a woman in a hotel hallway. And it picked wide receiver Tyreek Hill, who was dealing with his own domestic violence case that centered on the 3-year-old child he shares with his fiance.
While Clark has stayed out of trouble during four years in the NFL, he was kicked off the team at Michigan when he was charged with first-degree domestic violence and assault following an incident with his then-girlfriend. The charges were later reduced to fourth-degree persistent disorderly conduct and Clark completed a domestic violence course and paid court costs and fines.
One organization that called the trade “disconcerting” was the Rose Brooks Center, which has been providing a safe haven for victims of domestic violence for 40 years.
“Organizations and other systems have a community responsibility to hold offenders accountable, just as Rose Brooks Center does, in order to end the epidemic of domestic violence,” the center said in a statement. “When we do not hold offenders accountable, it sends a message of acceptance not only to the offender, but to the victim, reducing the likelihood that a victim will come forward.”
The Chiefs have not commented on the trade because it has yet to become official, though the team did tweet video from the locker room of a No. 55 jersey with Clark’s name.