Source: Megan Briggs / Getty
The NFL season kicked off yesterday afternoon and the drama was on before a single coin was tossed. Miami Dolphins speedy wide receiver Tyreek Hill was placed in handcuffs, pushed face-down on the ground, and detained by Miami-Dade Police Department officers as he was making his way into Hard Rock stadium. About three hours before the game, Hill was allegedly speeding and let the cops tell it, a “verbal altercation” ensued, and officers felt the need to be…aggressive.
In addition to Hill being detained his teammate, former NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year Calais Campbell, was also handcuffed while attempting to de-escalate the tense situation. Campbell appeared on ESPN’s First Take to explain his perspective on the incident to Stephen A. Smith, Shannon Sharpe, and Molly Qerim.
After the game, Hill spoke to the media about his temporary detention.
Via ESPN:
“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.
He continued:
“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.”
Tyreek says that he supports police officers and even “wants to be a cop one day” after his career is over but he isn’t sure what to make of this situation.
Miami-Dade PD says that they are investigating the incident to see if Hill’s civil rights were violated and the officer in question has been placed on administrative duties until more facts are obtained. That said, a spokesperson for the police union named Steadman Stahl released a statement blaming Hill for not immediately complying with Officer Oinky’s Godly commands.
“Upon being stopped, Mr. Hill was not immediately cooperative with the officers on scene who, pursuant to policy and for their immediate safety, placed Mr. Hill in handcuffs. Mr. Hill, still uncooperative, refused to sit on the ground and was therefore redirected to the ground,” Stahl added.
BOSSIP will continue to monitor this case and will provide updates as new information is released.
