【2003 Archives】

It's game over for Kareem Hunt.

003 Archivesformer star running back for the Kansas City Chiefs was cut from the team and (rightfully!) deemed an NFL pariah after video surfaced of Hunt assaulting a woman. Now, he's also banned from playing on Madden NFL 19's virtual field.

A spokesperson for EA Sports confirmed as much to TMZ, which originally broke the story of Hunt's behavior. "We are in the process of removing Kareem Hunt from the Madden NFL 19 roster, Madden Overdrive and Madden Ultimate Team," the rep said.

It's an easy change to reflect in the game's official NFL rosters, which shift on a weekly basis as players move around in the league. But the Madden's Ultimate Team mode and the mobile game Madden Overdriveboth are more about letting players build fantasy teams. Hunt will be replaced on those rosters with a generic player who has identical stats.

The change only applies to copies of the game that are connected to the internet. So if you're dead-set on keeping a disgraced player in your game, you could swear off all online Maddenactivities and go that route.

If this all sounds familiar, that's because it is. The response from EA Sports was virtually the same in 2014, after Ray Rice was suspended indefinitely in connection to a domestic violence incident.

Hunt's case is something of a test for the NFL and its partners. The league has been criticized again and again for its handling of problem players and an apparent inclination to protect them. Hunt was only in his second season when he was expelled from the league in late November, and he'd already established himself as a premiere running back.

On the league side, it's not clear what will be next for the disgraced player. He was cut by the Chiefs and placed on the Commissioner's Exempt list , which means he can still be signed -- and paid -- by another team, though he's barred from actually playing. So far, no team has stepped forward, though there are already signs that his image rehabilitation has begun.

Hunt is likely too toxic for any team to touch this season, and his looming, all-but-assured multi-game suspension will put a damper on any plans to get him back on the field before 2019's Super Bowl. But he may well be back for the 2019/2020 season, in which case he'd also likely return for EA's technically-unannounced-but-obviously-happening Madden NFL 20.