Police in Florida detained Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill before the team’s Week 1 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
Miami-Dade police stopped Hill near the team’s stadium during a traffic incident, the Dolphins said.
“This morning, WR Tyreek Hill was pulled over for a traffic incident about one block from the stadium and briefly detained by police,” the team said on X. “He has since been released. Several teammates saw the incident and stopped to offer support. Tyreek and all other players involved have safely arrived to the stadium and will be available for today’s game.”
At a postgame news conference, Hill said he was pulled over for speeding but did not provide more information.
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Hill was seen on video on X lying face down on the ground as officers placed his hands behind his back and appeared to put handcuffs on him.
Hill said he did not know why police handcuffed him, and described the incident "crazy." He added that he "wasn't disrespectful" to officers and that he's "still trying to figure it out."
Hill said he didn’t want to use his celebrity to get out of the situation but wondered what would’ve happened if he weren’t an NFL star.
“I don’t want to bring race into it, but sometimes it gets kind of iffy when you do,” he said. “What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill? Lord knows what that guy or guys would have done. I was just making sure that I was doing what my uncle always told me to do whenever you’re in a situation like that: ‘Just listen, put your hands on the steering wheel and just listen.’”
Hill also expressed appreciation for the teammates who joined him while he was detained.
"For them to put their life on the line ... it was amazing to see," he said.
The incident did not seem to affect Hill’s play. He caught an 80-yard touchdown pass in the Dolphins’ 20-17 defeat of the Jaguars. He celebrated the score by putting his hands behind his back as if they were in cuffs.
Police said in a statement that they were reviewing the incident.
One of the officers involved in the incident has been placed on administrative duties pending the internal investigation, Police Director Stephanie V. Daniels said in a statement.
"Following the incident involving Tyreek Hill, I have initiated an Internal Affairs investigation to ensure a thorough review of the matter," the statement said.
Daniels said she is "committed to transparency and accountability to the community with any situation involving my officers."
Hill said at the postgame conference that the fact that the officer has been placed on administrative duty "should tell you everything you need to know."
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said findings from the review would be made available.
"I commend Chief Reyes and Director Daniels for the immediate steps taken in the hours that followed today's incident with a Miami Dolphins player in calling for a swift internal review," she said in a statement, referring to Miami-Dade Public Safety Chief James Reyes. "In recent years our nation has confronted important conversations on the use of force, and the internal review process will answer questions about why the troubling actions shown in public video footage were taken by the officer."
Dolphins defensive lineman Calais Campbell told reporters police also put him in handcuffs Sunday morning.
Campbell said he stopped his car after he saw police detain Hill and tried to de-escalate the situation. He described the officers' behavior with Hill as "excessive force."
Hill, 30, is entering his third season with the Dolphins. He has been at the center of several legal issues dating to his time in college.
Hill was arrested in 2014 and accused of assaulting his pregnant girlfriend; he pleaded guilty to domestic assault.
He was accused of battery in 2019, and last year he settled with an employee of a Miami Beach business who alleged Hill assaulted him. No charges were filed in either case, and the NFL did not discipline Hill.
