Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill was detained by police in Florida on Sunday, outside Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, hours ahead of the team's season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
The 30-year-old NFL player was pulled over for a traffic incident, according to The New York Times, and video footage of his arrest was quickly shared on social media, showing Hill handcuffed and placed face-down on the ground by a group of officers.
Video of Tyreek Hill’s arrest today: pic.twitter.com/Kope2Ma6tk
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 8, 2024
"This morning, WR Tyreek Hill was pulled over for a traffic incident about one block from the stadium and briefly detained by police," the Dolphins team account wrote on X/Twitter on Sunday. "He has since been released. Several teammates saw the incident and stopped to offer support. Tyreek and all other players involved have safely arrived to the stadium and will be available for today’s game."
At a postgame press conference, Hill stated that he had been pulled over for speeding, but did not elaborate further, as noted by NBC. He added that he wasn't sure why the authorities had detained him, claiming he "wasn't disrespectful" to the police and was "still trying to figure it out."
“I don’t want to bring race into it, but sometimes it gets kind of iffy when you do,” Hill said. “What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill? Lord knows what that guy or guys would have done. I was just making sure that I was doing what my uncle always told me to do whenever you’re in a situation like that: ‘Just listen, put your hands on the steering wheel and just listen.’”
Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill speaks to press after he was handcuffed and placed face down on a street outside the team’s stadium after he was stopped for a traffic stop Sunday morning before the Dolphins’ first game of the season. pic.twitter.com/Hmmn2J37l4
— AP Sports (@AP_Sports) September 9, 2024
Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told CNN on Monday that the player's arrest was “heartbreaking, upsetting and uncalled for," adding that he was "in disbelief" over the situation.
“Tyreek was just trying to get to work, trying to play a game, just trying to do his job,” Rosenhaus said, speaking to CNN's Sara Sidner. “For police officers to detain him, to put him on the ground like that, to put their knee on him, to hit him – it’s just devastating.”
Rosenhaus also told NBC that Hill had been pulled over for reckless driving and driving without a license. "I don't want to speak for him but it certainly felt like he wasn't treated fairly," Rosenhaus said to NBC South Florida. "Things escalated out of control."
Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, Stephanie V. Daniels, said in a statement on Sunday that she had "requested an immediate review of all details surrounding the incident," adding that she was "reviewing available body-camera footage." In a follow-up statement, Daniels shared that the department had placed one of the officers on administrative leave pending an internal investigation.
Dolphins defensive lineman Calais Campbell told reporters he had also been arrested after stopping to try and de-escalate the interaction. NBC reported that a representative from the police department confirmed that Campbell had also been detained, but declined to comment on further details, including the names of the officers who were involved in both arrests.
“I commend Chief (James) Reyes and Director Daniels for the immediate steps taken in the hours that followed today’s incident with a Miami Dolphins player in calling for a swift internal review,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said in a statement. “In recent years our nation has confronted important conversations on the use of force, and the internal review process will answer questions about why the troubling actions shown in public video footage were taken by the officer.”
Despite the pre-game police run-in, Hill was still able to help lead the Dolphins to victory, scoring an 80-yard touchdown in the team's 20-17 win against the Jaguars. As he celebrated the score, he placed his hands behind his back in an ostensible reference to his detainment earlier that day.
The @cheetah handcuff celly 👀 pic.twitter.com/P4YXT93J2T
— Soul Runner (@soulrunner) September 8, 2024
