A few hours after Miami Dolphins star receiver Tyreek Hill was handcuffed by police outside Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on Sunday, the five-time All-Pro celebrated an 80-yard touchdown reception by putting his arms behind his back with his wrists together as if wearing handcuffs.
Video of the pregame incident a block from the stadium appeared to show a handcuffed Hill lying on his stomach with three police officers standing around him. He was picked up off the road by one of the officers.
Hill said after the Dolphins’ season-opening 20-17 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars that he was pulled over for allegedly speeding while driving to the stadium. He was placed in handcuffs after a “verbal altercation and cited for reckless driving,” people with knowledge of the incident told ESPN’s Jeff Darlington.
After the game, Hill told reporters that he was not disrespectful toward the officers and did not use profanity.
“Right now, I’m still trying to put it all together. … I still don’t know what happened,” Hill said. “But I do want to use this platform to say, ‘What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill?’ Worst-case scenario, you know?
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“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.”
Miami-Dade Police Department Director Stephanie V. Daniels said an investigation into the incident was underway and that one of the officers involved had been placed on administrative duty.
“Following the incident involving Tyreek Hill, I have initiated an Internal Affairs investigation to ensure a thorough review of the matter. One of the officers involved in the incident has been placed on administrative duties while the investigation is conducted,” Daniels said in a statement. “I’m committed to transparency and accountability to the community with any situation involving my officers.”
The incident didn’t hamper Hill’s performance. He had sevewn catches for a game-high 130 receiving yards, including the 80-yard touchdown — the longest of his career. After he scored, Hill celebrated by placing his hands behind his back while teammate Jaylen Waddle pretended to handcuff him.
Hill, 30, has long been recognized as one of the NFL’s elite receivers. He’s been selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his eight seasons, won a Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs and, last season, led the league with 1,799 receiving yards and 13 receiving touchdowns.
Regarded as the fastest player in the NFL, Hill was in the news recently for playfully challenging Olympic gold medal sprinter Noah Lyles to a race.
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The incident Sunday was no laughing matter to the Dolphins. Several players stopped their cars and offered Hill support while he was detained by the police, and defensive tackle Calais Campbell told NFL Network that he also was placed in handcuffs when he attempted to “de-escalate” the situation.
“They put handcuffs on me too, and I was like ‘What’s going on?’ I didn’t understand what the issue was,” Campbell said. “For him to put handcuffs on me, I felt some type of way.
“But that just goes to show our resilience though. We didn’t let that stop us. We just got back in line, got focused again, and went out there and played a good football game. But that definitely was an interesting way to start a ballgame.”
Hill said he planned to use the experience to improve the relationship between police and the community.
“I want to be able to use this platform to figure out a way to flip this,” he said, “and make it a positive on my end and Miami-Dade and do something positive for the community.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
