Why Didn’t Tyreek Hill Listen to “The Talk”? Anatomy of an Avoidable Conflict
If you follow sports even casually, or if you read the newspaper or watch the news, you’re likely to be aware of the run-in that Miami Dolphins star wide receiver Tyreek Hill had with the Miami-Dade police this past Sunday shortly before arriving at Hard Rock Stadium for his team’s season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The incident has generated media coverage for five-days running, but it needn’t have been anything more than a routine traffic stop that no one ever heard about. If only Hill had heeded “The Talk.”
More about that in a minute. Let’s first look at the evolving picture of what transpired.
The Sunday Traffic Stop
Hill was stopped for speeding, careless driving and not wearing a seat belt. When the policeman who knocked on the driver’s seat window of Hill’s sports car perceived the star athlete’s attitude and actions as “uncooperative,” things escalated quickly. When a second officer instructed Hill to get out of the car and he didn’t immediately obey, Hill found himself face down on the ground beside his car with handcuffs on his wrists and the officer’s knee on his back.
Dolphin defensive tackle Calais Campbell, upset by what he saw, pulled his vehicle over to observe the incident and support his teammate. Campbell…
