CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Kareem Hunt will write his own future and John Dorsey will create his own standards. So when the Cleveland Browns sign a Pro Bowl talent who kicked a woman in a hotel hallway, all the questions you have are for yourself.

What do you think of your football team today? What can Hunt and the Browns do, if anything, to make you believe this second chance is more than talk?

Cut by the Kansas City Chiefs in November after a video surfaced of him kicking a woman in a Cleveland hotel as part of a confrontation after a night out, Hunt was signed by the Browns on Monday.

“Browns fans need to look very closely and pay very close attention to what Kareem Hunt is doing to better himself and to rectify this situation beyond the yards on the field,” said Jerri Kay-Phillips, a California labor attorney. Her 95-page paper, “Unnecessary Roughness: The NFL’s History of Domestic Violence and the Need for Immediate Change," was published in the Journal of Entertainment and Sports Law in 2016.

“I’m sure (his talent) is exciting for Cleveland Browns fans," she said in a phone call with cleveland.com, after expressing surprise that Hunt had been signed. "But I think they need to also expect and demand that he do just as much work off the field to make amends to his victim and to better himself so that this doesn’t happen again.”

The Browns said a zero-tolerance policy is in place, so if Hunt breaks that and is cut, everyone can tell the Browns “we told you so” and move on. The franchise will face easy and earned criticism.

If Hunt for some reason doesn’t reclaim his status or his skill, after averaging 111 yards from scrimmage the last two seasons, third in the NFL behind only Todd Gurley and Ezekiel Elliott, then the Browns took a risk with little consequence. If his play is irrelevant, then the risk may be as well.

But these Browns, a team on the rise, are the favorites to win the AFC North. Hunt averaged 19 touches a game for the best offense in the league last season. If the Browns do what we think, and Hunt does what he’s done on the field, the risk will improve a playoff team.

That’s potentially the most difficult scenario for fans: Hunt emerges as significant contributor on a Super Bowl contender, and the Browns profit from a good player doing a bad thing.

That’s the Browns’ plan. And maybe their cross to bear.

Hunt, who has publicly apologized, is responsible for his behavior. He’s not a victim here. His actions led to his release. Now the Browns have made themselves responsible for aiding their new employee. For fans, cynicism or anger is a reasonable response. Hunt wouldn’t be in Cleveland if he couldn’t pick up first downs. The Browns didn’t have to wade into this. It’s a talent grab, not a charity case. Why would the Browns potentially endanger this era of good feelings and true optimism?

The offer of a second chance can be fueled by desperation or by confidence. The Browns have made plenty of desperate moves in the past. If Hunt was going to sign somewhere (another NFL team would have eventually done so) what if the Browns are doing it because they believe they can handle the responsibility?

If you believe Hunt should never play football again, there’s no getting past this move. If you don’t think that, well, if the Browns take this risk, they have to do it right.

“I don’t think it needs to be a one-strike policy,” Kay-Phillips said. “However I do think there needs to be real consequences beyond ‘just sit out a few games.’ Let’s deal with the heart of the issue.

“I don’t think that the conduct that this player has engaged in warrants him being unemployed and losing his professional career for the rest of his life at age 23."

The NFL still must determine a suspension length as part of Hunt’s punishment, and Kay-Phillips made it clear that each player issue must be evaluated on its own. But that’s a league issue. Fans here care about a Browns issue. Kansas City made the right call to cut him. He blew that chance. That doesn’t automatically make it wrong for the Browns to sign him. But Kay-Phillips would have these questions.

“What if anything are you going to do with Mr. Hunt with respect to his own rehabilitation and remediation of wrongs?” she said. “Did he go to any domestic-violence classes? Has he done any work in the community? Has he made amends with his alleged victim? Has he done any of those things where it would warrant signing him?”

Dorsey said the Browns are requiring Hunt to continue with that kind of professional treatment, which he has already begun. Dorsey said Hunt is gone with a misstep. Kay-Phillips will run you through the list of the NFL’s repeat offenders. She’s aware of how lip service leads to another round of the same violence.

If you’re mad or disappointed, you’re right, for now. Maybe you’ll be right in the end. If this fails, we know how you will feel about your football team.

But there’s a window for this to work. If the Browns are serious and not desperate, maybe a truly repentant and rehabbed Hunt will help the Browns win big.

If that happens, how will you feel about your football team?