What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill? Dolphins star questions police treatment
The wide receiver addressed his detention after helping the Dolphins beat the Jaguars
Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill was still trying to process why he was detained by police prior to yesterday’s win over the Jacksonville Jaguars – with one of the officers involved later placed on administrative duties.
Hill was pulled over by law enforcement on his way to Hard Rock Stadium for his team’s Week 1 opener for an alleged speeding offence. He was subsequently put in handcuffs and forced to lie face down on the tarmac.
The 30-year-old was released and went on to play a starring role against the Jags with 130 receiving yards and a touchdown, which he celebrated by mimicking his detention, as the Dolphins won 20-17.
“Right now, I’m still trying to put it all together, I still don’t know what happened,” he said after the game. “But I do want to use this platform to say, ‘What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill?’ Worst-case scenario, you know?
“Everybody has bad apples in every situation, but I want to be able to use this platform to figure out a way to flip this and make it a positive on my end and Miami-Dade and do something positive for the community.
“It’s hard. I don’t want to bring race into it, but sometimes it gets kind of iffy when you do. What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill? Lord knows what those guys would have done. I just wanted to make sure I was doing what my uncle always told me to do whenever you’re in a situation like that – put your hands on the steering wheel and just listen.”
Love this shit ✌ pic.twitter.com/peU14LQ4iM
— Ty Hill (@cheetah) September 8, 2024
Team-mates help Hill
Hill’s team-mates Calais Campbell and Jonnu Smith stopped to help Hill, with the former also detained for what he said was “disobeying a direct order”.
Hill was informed that one of the officers had been placed on administrative duties during his post-match media conference, to which he said: “That should tell you everything you need to know, then.
“I’m just glad that my teammates were there to support me in my situation because I felt alone. When they showed up, it made me realize that we have a good team this year, for them to put their life on the line. It was amazing to see.”
Players were rattled – McDaniel
It was an unwanted distraction for Miami head coach Mike McDaniel, who admitted it had caused a stir in the locker room prior to the game.
“Especially for some of the guys involved – Calais Campbell and Jonnu, they were all pretty rattled,” McDaniel said.
“I think you try to prepare a team to handle the unknown. You definitely aren’t forecasting exact situations. A lot of things fall under the veil of adversity and the one common denominator is that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel in any sort of life adversity.
“You’re not necessarily prepared for that, but neither were our teammates that were in need. So, we just do our best.”