Photo Credit: Virginia Beach (Va.) Police Department
When the Tennessee Titans signed Marcus Mariota, it looked it was going to be a good offseason for them. Unfortunately, that notion seemed to be short-lived, especially for Titans wide receiver, Justin Hunter. Hunter was projected to be one of the elemental parts of the Titans offensive line, especially after the drafting of Marcus Mariota.
Unfortunately, it looks like Hunter will not be participating in much of this season. It has been reported that Hunter was involved in an incident in Virginia Beach that resulted in his arrest. As of right now, Hunter is being charged with felonious assault. For those who don’t know have a clue what that is, felonious assault is when the attack is meant to actually hurt the victim instead of doing it to just scare them, for instance. Hunter is also said to be charged with stabbing, cutting, malicious intent and wounding.
Hunter was released earlier today on $25,000 bond. The judge also put him on a curfew in which he cannot be out between the hours of 11:00PM and 5:00PM. He was also ordered to not drink alcohol. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for September 3rd. He could be facing anywhere from five to twenty years in prison as well as a $100,000 fine.
Hunter has not released a statement in regards to the attack. The Titans, however, have released a statement, “We are aware of the situation and are continuing to gather more facts” which is an interesting statement to put out and brings a few questions to mind. One question is if the Titans will actually end up keeping Hunter?
After signing some free agents and drafting two new receivers, the Titans have no shortage of talent for this upcoming season. Head coach Ken Whisenhunt made a statement in May which could give a clue on where the Titans stand at this point, “At some point, you either get it, or you won’t be in this league anymore. That’s the natural order of the NFL”. Whisenhunt’s statement seems to echo a lot of what players in the NFL cannot seem to understand.
Another question is what Hunter’s punishment will end up being? In Roger Goodell’s revision of the NFL personal conduct policy, he said “Effective immediately, violations of the Personal Conduct Policy regarding assault, battery, domestic violence or sexual assault that involve physical force will be subject to a suspension without pay of six games for a first offense, with consideration given to mitigating factors, as well as a longer suspension when circumstances warrant”. Clearly, it looks like Hunter will missing 6 games at the very minimum.
