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KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
Kansas City Chiefs

KC radio host pulled off air indefinitely after comments on Chiefs coach Andy Reid's family

Kansas City radio host Kevin Kietzman has been pulled off the air indefinitely after he tied Chiefs coach Andy Reid's family life to the Tyreek Hill situation in a Monday segment.

Speaking on WHB 810, Kietzman suggested that Reid's ability as a father played a role in the Chiefs' handling of Hill. The Chiefs wide receiver has been suspended due to allegations of child abuse and is meeting with NFL investigators this week. Reid's son Garrett died of a heroin overdose in 2012.

“The thing is, (the Chiefs) probably think (Reid) can fix (Hill), but they thought they could fix him before and they failed," Kietzman said. "Andy Reid does not have a great record of fixing players. He doesn’t. Discipline is not his thing. It did not work out particularly well in his family life, and that needs to be added to this, as we’re talking about the Chiefs. He wasn’t real great at that either. He’s had a lot of things go bad on him, family and players." 

In a statement on the WHB website Tuesday, Union Broadcasting wrote: "We are aware of the controversial comments made by Kevin Kietzman during yesterday’s broadcast of Between the Lines. We have decided to take the immediate step to take Kevin off the air until further notice as we review this matter.

“We take Kevin’s comments and those of all on-air staff seriously. Kevin’s comments were clearly not to his or our standards. Please know that we will take necessary appropriate actions."

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Kietzman is vice president and sports director of the radio station, according to the WHB 810 website.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid

ESPN analyst and former NFL player Louis Riddick, who worked as the director of pro personnel with the Eagles when Reid was the team's coach, blasted Kietzman on Twitter. 

"You are trash for referencing Andy Reid and his family and his son," Riddick wrote. "To speak about another man's child is out of bounds." 

NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Amy Fadool Kane called Kietzman's words “lower than low" and CBS reporter Will Brinson tabbed the remarks “absolutely repugnant." Many social media users called for Kietzman's firing. 

Reid is set to begin his seventh season with the Chiefs, where he is 65-31 and has won the AFC West the last three seasons. Reid and his wife, Tammy, had five children. His other son, Britt, has been on the Chiefs' coaching staff for the past six seasons after spending five months in jail in 2007. 

In a Twitter response to the backlash, Kietzman tried to explain he was referencing Britt Reid, not Garrett Reid.

"When they served time and Reid hired them to work for his football teams, it was no longer a private matter," he wrote, in part. "But blaming a parent for the death of their child in these circumstances is unthinkable and reprehensible."

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