The serious off-field issues surrounding star Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill might have taken on a whole new meaning on Thursday.
According to this report, authorities in Kansas are investigating whether Hill’s fiancee, Crystal Espinal, suffers from a little-known disorder called factitious disorder by proxy.
This is an absolutely wild turn right here. Anyone who has ever studied the disorder knows that it includes a caregiver making up the causes of an illness or an illness itself. It is considered a form of elderly and/or child abuse.
“Victims are most often small children. They may get painful medical tests they don’t need. They may even become seriously ill or injured or may die because of the actions of the caregiver,” the University of Michigan Medical Center defined the condition to be. “Children who are victims of MSBP can have lifelong physical and emotional problems and may have Munchausen syndrome (previous name for the condition) as adults. This is a disorder in which a person causes or falsely reports his or her own symptoms.”
As it relates to the Hill case, this is especially noteworthy. His fiancee had previously claimed that the Chiefs wide receiver injured their young son in a fit of temper while threatening to do harm to her, as well.
Hill and Espinal had the child temporarily taken from their custody earlier in the year. the Pro Bowl receiver is also currently away from the Chiefs while an investigation into the matter is conducted.
It’s important not to draw any conclusions here. Authorities are simply looking into the possibility that Espinal is suffering from factitious disorder by proxy. If that’s proven to be true, the entire case will be turned on its head.