Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill was briefly detained by police after being pulled over for a ‘traffic incident’ on his way to their opening match of the NFL season.
The wide receiver was seen on videos posted to the social media site X, formerly Twitter, laying face down on the ground, close to the Hard Rock Stadium, as officers placed his hands behind his back and appeared to put handcuffs on him.
Hill was released soon after and was available to feature for the Dolphins later on Sunday, where he had seven catches for 130 yards and scored a touchdown in a dramatic 20-17 win over the Jaguars.
The 30-year-old sent social media into a frenzy with his touchdown celebration, where he made reference to the earlier detainment by mimicking being handcuffed by team-mate Jaylen Waddle.
When asked about the police incident after the Dolphins’ victory, Hill said in his post-match media conference: “I have no idea [why he was treated like that], for real! No idea man, it’s crazy.
Tyreek Hill celebrated his touchdown with a handcuff celebration alongside team-mate Jaylen Waddle
“I wasn’t disrespectful, because my mum didn’t raise me that way. Didn’t cuss, didn’t do any of that, so I’m still trying to figure it out.”
An initial statement on Sunday from Stephanie V. Daniels, Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, said they were “aware” of the incident and requested “an immediate review” of how it was handled.
Daniels provided a further statement later that day, which said: “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. I’m committed to transparency and accountability to the community with any situation involving my officers.”
Hill’s agent criticises “absurd” incident
His agent Drew Rosenhaus told ESPN ahead of the match that was detained for a “traffic violation” and described the handling of the incident as “unnecessary”, while Hill revealed after the victory he had been accused of “speeding” by the officer.
Rosenhaus confirmed that Dolphins head of security Drew Brooks, along with teammates Calais Campbell and Jonnu Smith, were there to support Hill after his incident with police.
Speaking to the NFL Network’s “GameDay LIVE!” programme, Rosenhaus added: “It’s very upsetting, as Tyreek’s agent, to see the way that he was treated.
“I wasn’t there when he was stopped, but to see my client in handcuffs, some of the video that we’re seeing is unnecessary. There’s no reason that Tyreek should have been treated that way.
“Tyreek is okay. He’s very upset, but he’s okay. He’ll focus, he’ll do what he has to do today.
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“Tyreek said he was just pulling into the stadium and it’s a legal situation, so I’m not going to get into a lot of the details, but he felt like things got way out of hand. We’ll be talking to his legal representation and there will be an investigation.
“This shouldn’t happen to a player entering his home stadium. It’s just absurd. I’m sorry for Tyreek and while not pointing fingers, something obviously happened that shouldn’t have relative to the police officers on the scene.”
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