After facing a suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy, Kareem Hunt has vowed he won't make the same mistake twice and has taken some steps to improve himself.
In addition to going to counseling sessions twice a week, Hunt will be baptized Sunday. He told reporters: "I'm looking forward to it so I can feel reborn."
New Browns’ RB Kareem Hunt is being baptized today in Cleveland. “I’m looking forward to it so I can feel reborn,” Hunt told reporters last week.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 19, 2019
According to cleveland.com, Browns general manager John Dorsey and coach Freddie Kitchens surprised Hunt at his baptism.
Hunt was suspended for the first eight games of 2019 after a video surfaced of him shoving and kicking a woman in the hallway of a Cleveland hotel last February while he was playing for the Chiefs, who released him in late November.
Players serving suspensions are usually banned from their team's facilities, though the Browns have asked the league to let Hunt remain with the team during that time. He showed he was serious by being present for the team's first OTA session.
Following the acquisition of Hunt in February, Dorsey said in a statement : “We fully understand and respect the complexity of questions and issues in signing a player with Kareem’s history and do not condone his actions. … We fully understand that Kareem is subject to discipline by the NFL.”
Hunt acknowledged "he definitely made a mistake" and apologized for his actions.
"I told (Dorsey) 'You can trust me.' I’ve got to earn his trust, and I’ve got to earn everybody’s trust in the whole organization. I’m not willing to mess that up," Hunt told reporters earlier this week. "I live by that on the field, too. I make a mistake on the field, I'm not going to do it again. I'm going to learn from it and just move forward."
Hunt led the NFL with 1,327 yards rushing as a rookie in 2017 with Kansas City and was named to the Pro Bowl. He was enjoying a similarly successful season in 2018 before his release with 824 yards rushing, 378 yards receiving and 14 total touchdowns.