The Miami Dolphins came from behind to defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars 20-17 in their season opener on September 8. During the matchup, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa connected with Tyreek Hill for an incredible 80-yard touchdown, the longest score of the superstar wide receiver’s career.
Hill’s incredible play came just hours after he was detained by Miami-Dade Police during a traffic stop outside Hard Rock Stadium. Amid conflicting accounts what transpired, the police union in Miami-Dade released a statement on September 9 that claimed Hill was not “immediately cooperative” and that he “initiated this unfortunate incident.”
After the body-cam footage from the officers involved with Hill’s detainment was released, most viewers were incredibly upset by what transpired.
NFL insider Jordan Schultz posted, “This is absolutely disgusting, demoralizing and downright sad. There are no words torationalize this behavior from the Miami-Dade Police. Here’s my question: What if this wasn’t Tyreek Hill? What happens then? And how many times per day in this country does this occur?”
After the footage went viral, Hill shared a strong message on X.
Hill posted, “Let’s make a change,” which quickly racked up over 21,000 likes.
During the incident, Dolphins defensive tackle Calais Campbell, a former Walter Payton Man of the Year Award winner, and tight end Jonnu Smith pulled over and tried to help Hill. Police also handcuffed Campbell, as seen in the body-cam footage.
“From the moment that those guys pulled up behind me, knocked on my window, it went from zero to 60 immediately,” Hill, 30, told NBC News,
“When I saw Jonnu and Calais pull up, I didn’t feel alone anymore. They ended up handcuffing Calais for just being 6-8 I think. But it was crazy. It was crazy how that same officer who took me down handcuffed Calais for just standing on the side.”
After watching the body-cam footage, former NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III posted, “This level of aggression and demeaning behavior was not necessary. This is an excessive overuse of power.” And he was not alone in his assessment.
USA Today’s Mike Freeman wrote, “The Tyreek Hill body cam footage shows exactly what many of us suspected: cops on a power trip, abusing their authority. Going to extremes they didn’t need to.”
