September 9—Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniels praised his players’ reaction to Tyreek Hill and Calais Campbell being handcuffed hours before Sunday’s season opener, and he vowed that police “will not cover it up”.
On Sunday morning, Miami-Dade County police stopped Hill’s vehicle a block from Hard Rock Stadium for a moving violation and briefly detained him. Video posted online shows the star receiver being handcuffed by police and held face down on the ground.
When Campbell, a veteran teammate in his first season with the Dolphins, arrived on the scene and tried to defuse the situation, he was also briefly handcuffed.
Hill was ultimately issued two traffic tickets. Miami-Dade County police said the officer who initially came into contact with Hill has been placed on administrative duty while the investigation continues.
McDaniel, 41, is biracial, the son of a black father and a white mother. Hill and Campbell are both black.
“The more I think about it, the more upset I get,” McDaniel told reporters at a news conference Monday.
“Honestly, what’s exciting for me (expletive) is knowing that I don’t know exactly — I don’t know what it feels like.”
McDaniel said that allowing due process to proceed was “very, very important” to him, but that the sentiments expressed to him by Hill and Campbell were “troubling”.
He said he felt overwhelmed by the “unknown” and that it was likely to be worse than what he knew.
“I never felt like I was discriminated against because of my looks,” McDaniel said. “Especially for me, I felt very helpless at times.”
“But adversity brings two things,” he said. “Extremely proud to be a teammate and extremely proud that our employees understand the civic responsibilities of the platform.”
Hill arrived in time and scored an 80-yard catch-and-run touchdown to help the Dolphins defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars 20–17. After Hill’s touchdown, teammate Jaylen Waddle grabbed Hill’s wrist from behind and pretended to handcuff him to help the celebration.
Hill later told reporters he had “no idea” why he was handcuffed for the moving violation and claimed he didn’t disrespect the officer.
But the South Florida Police Benevolent Association defended the officer in a statement from President Stedman Starr on Monday and claimed Hill was not cooperating. The video shows the officer gave Hill less than a second to comply with orders before he cursed.
“First, to be clear, (Hill) was never arrested,” the statement said. “He was briefly detained for the safety of officers because he was driving in a manner that posed a significant risk to himself and others.
“After being stopped, Mr. Hill did not immediately cooperate with the officers on scene, who, in accordance with policy and for his immediate safety, placed Mr. Hill in handcuffs. Mr. Hill remained uncooperative and refused to get on the ground, so he was redirected to the field.
Police have not yet released the official body camera video, and McDaniel said he would let that process play out.
Still, he was on edge and ready to defend his players.
“It’s so high profile it can’t be hidden,” McDaniel said.
–Visual-level media
