Tyreek Hill admitted to feeling embarrassed on behalf of his family after a traffic stop turned into a dramatic scene on his way to the Dolphins’ home opener on Sunday.
While heading to Hard Rock Stadium ahead of Miami’s matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars, the wide receiver was pulled from his car and thrown to the ground while handcuffed.
Before his second home game against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday, Hill sat down with Taylor Rooks and shed more light on the incident.
“I haven’t really thought about it,” Hill said of how the arrest was processed. “It’s tough, it’s difficult. Going through something like that is traumatic, man. It’s embarrassing.”
“For my family, my kids, my wife, especially. My wife was worried when I was pregnant,” Hill continued. “So yeah, I’m still trying to put it all together, I’m still trying to put the puzzle pieces together.”
Tyreek Hill admitted his shame on behalf of his family following his arrest over the weekend.
“I feel like this doesn’t represent the name that’s on the back of my jersey in the right way,” Hill added. “The flip side of this is that it’s great because I get a chance to at least try to raise awareness about what this entire county has been trying to fix for the last decade.”
“There are pros and cons in every situation, what matters is what you do. You learn from the situation and take responsibility. Think about how you can improve.”
The dramatic traffic stop went viral after clips circulated of officers forcing Hill out of his vehicle and another member of the force apparently kicking him during his arrest.
However, body camera footage from one of the officers on the scene showed that Hill did not have the best strategy to stop him. After admitting that he could have handled the situation better, Hill gave his view on how events unfolded.
“I gave him my ID, the next step is, I guess, to roll the window all the way down. There’s no law for that,” Hill said. “But I guess in the heat of the moment, the officer is thinking about his safety.
‘I’m thinking I don’t want my picture taken and people saying, ‘Hey, is that Reek before a game, getting arrested?’
Hill was at the center of a dramatic traffic stop on his way to Miami’s home opener on Sunday.
Hill and teammate Jaylen Waddle reenacted an arrest after the receiver’s touchdown.
Hill added that the officer attempted to get a reaction from him by pinching his neck.
“I tried to come to a deal and say, ‘Here’s my ID,’ and I walk out my window without making any deal. It’s crazy to think about that now. Does that give them the right to pull me out of my car? No. It doesn’t give them the right to put their hands on me, to antagonize me.
‘There was a lot of stuff like that going on… every time they handcuffed me behind my back, the officer would pinch my neck, like he wanted me to do something to him.’
Hill later admitted that he had only seen the video once. Meanwhile, his wife and mother have seen the video “over 100 times” and get angrier each time they watch it.
“Let’s not get angry, let’s learn,” Hill tells her family. “Because the angrier we get, the more I feel like we’re going backwards. It’s all about responsibility on both sides.”
Noting that he does not want to speak directly to the officers involved, Hill said he will “talk to the people at the top” and have the necessary uncomfortable conversations.
Hill added that athletes want to give police officers a voice because they want safe communities for their families, and he said he won’t let this interfere with football. Despite the unpleasant experience, Cheetah has no plans to kneel during the national anthem or let the situation bleed into his profession.
“Football is my sanctuary,” Hill said. “This is where I pay my bills. This is where I take care of my family.”
