Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill was handcuffed outside Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium just hours before the Dolphins kicked off against Jacksonville on Sunday. Hill was eventually released and played in Miami’s 20-17 victory.
Hill was detained by police for a traffic violation. Shortly before 11 a.m. ET, photos of Hill in handcuffs began circulating on social media.
“I’m told by sources Tyreek Hill was cited for reckless driving as a result of his incident outside the stadium with police,” ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reported from the scene. “After he was pulled over, he got into a verbal altercation with police. The officer chose to place Hill in handcuffs. He was cited and released after the situation was deescalated.”
Darlington reported Monday that Hill was received two citations during the stop: careless driving and a seatbelt violation.
The Dolphins released a statement on Hill shortly after the incident.
“This morning, WR Tyreek Hill was pulled over for a traffic incident about one block from the stadium and briefly detained by police,” the team said. “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.”
Hill told reporters after Sunday’s game that he had “no idea” why he was detained. “Wasn’t disrespectful because my mom didn’t raise me that way. Didn’t cuss,” he said. “Still trying to figure it out.”
“Right now, I’m still trying to put it all together … I still don’t know what happened,” he said, via ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques. “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.”
Miami defensive lineman Calais Campbell was also placed in handcuffs, and told NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe that he was detained after trying to deescalate the situation between Hill and the police. Campbell was originally cited for disobeying a direct order, per Darlington, but ended up not getting a citation.
Dolphins DL Calais Campbell just told me he was detained in handcuffs by police this morning trying to deescalate the Tyreek Hill matter. He says never in his 17-year career or life has he had anything like that happen.
Full interview coming on @nflnetwork @NFLGameDay: pic.twitter.com/pQFjV8gsIE
— Cameron Wolfe (@CameronWolfe) September 8, 2024
“He said I was too close to the scene and then I think he said something about me not moving my car in time, I don’t know … He told me I wasn’t being arrested but he cited me for being detained and then released,” Campbell said, via ESPN.
The Miami-Dade Police Department released a statement indicating that a review of the incident, as well as any body cam footage, would be forthcoming. Later on Sunday, soon after the Dolphins game ended, the department released an additional statement announcing that one of the officers was “placed on administrative duties” while they investigate, indicating that the officer will be confined to desk duty until the matter is resolved. The department did not provide further details as to how the traffic stop escalated so quickly.
In the game, Hill caught seven passes for 130 yards and a touchdown. After scoring on an 80-yard reception, Hill offered up an interesting celebration:
Hill took to social media with his usual swagger after the game: “When you him nothing can stop you,” he wrote in a post on social media.
The Dolphins won 20-17 off of a last-second game-winning field goal.
