Ahead of the Miami Dolphins’ NFL season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday, one of their biggest stars was detained by police. That would be receiver Tyreek Hill. This started with several people posting videos and photos of what appeared to be Hill in handcuffs:
TYREEK HILL ARRESTED BEFORE OPENING KICKOFF RIGHT OUTSIDE HARD ROCK STADIUM #nfl #nflopeningday #fantasyfootball #espn #miami #MiamiDolphins pic.twitter.com/9MtCikLMcS
— Nolan (@NolanFried73315) September 8, 2024
Tyreek Hill getting arrested outside of Hard Rock stadium 😢😢 pic.twitter.com/e8O3CsLvuQ
— Willy (@its_wilsoooon) September 8, 2024
Will Manso of local TV station WPLG (the Miami ABC affiliate) offered more details:
For those asking I couldn’t get any details or more than just that pic because about 4-5 officers were in sidewalk directing game day traffic to keep moving. Hill did not have cuffs on.
— Will Manso (@WillManso) September 8, 2024
And ESPN’s Adam Schefter eventually relayed a statement from Rosenhaus confirming that Hill was detained over “a traffic violation,” but will play against the Jaguars:
Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill was detained by police today entering the stadium for a driving violation, per his agent Drew Rosenhaus. But Rosenhaus said Hill will play today.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 8, 2024
ESPN’s Jeff Darlington added more details on the handcuffs:
I’m told by sources Tyreek Hill was cited for reckless driving as a result of his incident outside the stadium with police. 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…
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) September 8, 2024
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport also discussed this on TV on their GameDay Morning pregame show:
Ian Rapoport — and a caught-off-guard Rich Eisen — on NFL Network with a breaking news report about Tyreek Hill being detained by police for a traffic violation.
“From my understanding… Tyreek Hill was slammed to the ground, handcuffed for five minutes…” pic.twitter.com/HZhNilaJD9
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 8, 2024
This obviously got many thinking back to the saga involving PGA Tour star Scottie Scheffler being detained by police ahead of the second round of the PGA Championship this May (which Darlington was at the center of), reportedly also over a driving violation. That led to the infamous “pants damaged beyond repair” report.
Scottie Scheffler and Tyreek Hill pic.twitter.com/LBxwaIr5AB
— BetMGM 🦁 (@BetMGM) September 8, 2024
Unlike Scheffler, though, Hill was not taken to a holding cell and did not get a mugshot. But lots still remains to be determined on just what Hill did, just how the police responded, and just what the consequences might be for both.
[Will Manso on X/Twitter, image via @its_wilsoooon on X/Twitter]
About Andrew Bucholtz
Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.