Tyreek Hill spoke out in his first interview since he was detained by police ahead of the Miami Dolphins’ season opener this weekend.
“I was shocked, man,” the Dolphins wide receiver, 30, said during a Monday, September 9, appearance on CNN’s The Source With Kaitlan Collins. “Like, it’s crazy, because it all happened so fast, man. … And I really couldn’t, like, gather everything that was happening. So it was crazy.”
Hill went on to say that he was attempting to comply with officers’ demands so the situation didn’t escalate any further.
“And me being a father, me being a husband and all that, man, I wouldn’t just put myself in that situation. Like, hey, I got to be smart,” he explained. “I wasn’t on that kind of energy. Like, I was chilling. Like, I was following rules. You know what I’m saying? I wasn’t moving fast because I got injuries. You feel me? I got things that I go through. I play a physical sport. I have been doing this for a moment now, man. So I’m dealing with some stuff. So I guess the officers, they felt like I wasn’t doing it on their time. But I was — I was doing it.”
Hill was pulled over by police officers outside Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday, September 8, three hours before the Dolphins’ first game of the season. Bodycam footage showed officers pulling Hill out of his vehicle and forcing him to the ground while placing his hands behind his back. In the footage, he asked officers to use caution because he’d previously had knee surgery.
“What happened today to Tyreek at the stadium is completely unacceptable. Tyreek did not deserve to be treated that way by the police involved,” Hill’s agent Drew Rosenhaus said in a statement on Sunday. “Tyreek’s legal team will be pursuing this matter on Tyreek’s behalf and I’m sure they will consider taking legal action.”
Hill, who appeared on CNN with his lawyer Julius Collins, told host Kaitlan Collins that he is “still kind of shell-shocked from” the incident.
“I didn’t want to create a scene at all,” he continued. “Like, I just really wanted to get the ticket and then just go on about my way and then just have a great Sunday.”
He also noted that the situation might have turned out very differently if he weren’t a well-known NFL player.
“I hate talking like this, man, but — because I have a kid fan base, but the reality of it is, it’s the truth. If I wasn’t Tyreek Hill, worst-case scenario, we would have had a different article,” the athlete said. “Tyreek Hill got shot in front of Hard Rock Stadium. Or that’s worst-case scenario. Or Tyreek Hill put in handcuffs and taken in and booked.”
The Miami-Dade Police Department later confirmed that one of the officers who detained Hill was placed on administrative leave.
“Following the incident involving Tyreek Hill, I have initiated an Internal Affairs investigation to ensure a thorough review of the matter,” Miami-Dade Police Department Director Stephanie V. Daniels said on Sunday. “One of the officers involved in the incident has been placed on administrative duties while the investigation is conducted.”