Scandal surrounding NFL star Tyreek Hill: These violent scenes bring back bad memories

A scandal in the NFL is causing a stir: Superstar Tyreek Hill is being brutally treated by the police. The league remains silent while the Dolphins professional calls for the dismissal of an officer. The case exposes the ongoing police violence in the USA – and brings back bad memories.

Imagine Thomas Müller is on his way to FC Bayern's Bundesliga opening match in his car. Shortly before the Allianz Arena, the Munich professional accelerates too much. The police stop the Rio World Champion to fine him for driving too fast. But suddenly the officers forcibly drag Müller out of his car. Throw him to the ground, pin him there with your knee on his back, put your hands on him, hold him from behind with a chokehold.

Unimaginable? Not in the USA. Tyreek Hill, one of the absolute top stars of the NFL, experienced exactly this scenario. The Miami Dolphins wide receiver was briefly arrested by the police last Sunday right at the Hard Rock Stadium, just a few hours before his team's kickoff. Video footage from the police officers' body cameras, which was later released, shows a brutal approach against the 30-year-old, which has caused a lot of criticism in the USA. Because there is more to the case: It sheds further light on police brutality and underscores the ongoing, disproportionate use of violence against black Americans.

“What if I wasn't Tyreek Hill?” The superstar's sentence after the brutal police stop is likely to remain one of the most important quotes of this NFL season that has just begun, because they are words that have meaning beyond football. Eight years after former quarterback Colin Kapernick protested police brutality for the first time by kneeling during the national anthem, and four years after the death of George Floyd drew worldwide attention to the issue, US sport experienced a feeling of regression. The NFL, meanwhile, remains silent.

“Stop crying”

Violent traffic stops are not uncommon in the USA. This time, Tyreek Hill was caught because he was driving 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) instead of the permitted 40 (64). After he handed over his papers through the driver's window, an officer asked why the football star was not wearing a seatbelt and he rolled the window back up and answered over and over again, “Don't bang on my window like that.” The police ordered Hill to roll the window back down and get out. When the window opened just a crack, one of the four police officers threatened to smash the window. When Hill opened the door, an officer violently dragged him out of the car, threw him to the ground and handcuffed him.

The video shows that Hill is given little time to get out and that he does not resist, but is nevertheless dragged to the ground, pinned to his back with a knee and held to the ground by several officers. One of the officers says, “Stop crying” and “If we tell you to do something, do it. Do you understand?”

Hill, his hands handcuffed behind his back, is then ordered to sit on the side of the road. When he initially stops and explains that he has just had knee surgery, one of the officers forces him onto the curb from behind in a chokehold. Two other Dolphins players stop to support Hill, one of whom is also briefly handcuffed.

Following the release of the footage, county Mayor Daniella Levine Cava and Democratic and Republican candidates for Miami-Dade County Sheriff in the November election criticized the police's treatment of Hill. Miami police placed one of the officers involved on administrative duty. “They are also conducting an internal investigation into the incident,” Police Chief Stephanie Daniels said in a statement.

Hill responds with handcuff cheers

The Miami Dolphins also issued a statement condemning the officers' “overly aggressive and violent behavior” and saying it was “insane” and “heartbreaking” to see “the very people we trust to protect our community use such unnecessary violence and hostility toward these players.”

Hill arrived healthy for Sunday's game and had seven catches and 130 yards against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Dolphins won thanks to his magnificent 80-yard touchdowns. Hill, known for attention-grabbing moves, celebrated the success with a handcuffed celebration.

He later told reporters that he was “shocked” by the whole incident. He then expressed fear that things could have escalated even further if he hadn't been a famous football player: “What if I wasn't Tyreek Hill?” He later added to NBC News: “God knows, I would have been shot or locked up at worst.”

It is not known whether an image of George Floyd flashed in Hill's mind as he lay on the ground. But like Floyd, Hill is Black. The police officers are not. Hill carries no weapon and does not physically attack any of the officers. Yet he is dehumanized and pinned to the asphalt. In the video, it appears that the police officers do not feel respected enough and see their egos bruised, and therefore become aggressive, allowing what could have been a routine traffic stop to escalate minimally and unnecessarily.

“He feared for his life”

The regional police union claims the officers' behavior was due to Hill not complying with their demands quickly enough. “When he was stopped, Mr. Hill was not immediately cooperative with officers on the scene, who handcuffed him as per protocol and for his immediate safety,” Steadman Stahl, president of the South Florida Police Benevolent Association, said in a statement.

Did Hill behave perfectly during the check? No, he himself says he should have behaved “better”. The violence does not excuse his rude behavior, after all he complied – even if not as quickly as the police wanted. The fact that the football star is an extremely contentious athlete and person and anything but a model professional should not play a role: Hill has already been convicted and charged with domestic violence, among other things, because he is said to have broken the arm of his then three-year-old son.

This time, however, it is the football pro who is the only one attempting to de-escalate the situation. He does not fight against the officers' brutal actions, does not provoke further and responds to insults shouted in his ear with: “Chill out, brother.” Hill's agent Drew Rosenhaus says after the check that Hill even wants to become a police officer after his playing career ends. But Rosenhaus also explains that Hill's lawyers are considering legal action against the police department. “He feared for his life,” says the agent. “It was absolutely disgusting.”

Hill calls for police officers to be fired

On Thursday, Hill finally called through an attorney and demanded the “immediate termination” of the “escalating officer,” who was assigned administrative duties as a result of the incident. “Every action by a police officer is subject to standard operating procedures,” a statement said. “We believe the officer used excessive, escalating and reckless force.” The events are “a reminder of the reality of the many injustices that people from Black and minority communities face at the hands of law enforcement,” the statement continued. “We do not accuse the officer of racism in any way, but we do accuse law enforcement customs and practices from a historical perspective of being discriminatory and oppressive to Black and minority communities.”

The NFL, which otherwise takes up issues of social justice – not least because the league is made up of 70 percent black players – has remained silent on the incident. Even after the Dolphins' next party, which they lost to the Buffalo Bills on Friday night. One would have thought that the NFL would have learned from the lack of support for Colin Kaepernick eight years ago. Will the NFL take countermeasures in the future? Will the scandal be dismissed as an isolated incident or addressed as part of a systemic problem?

Thomas Müller has probably never been thrown to the ground by police officers and pinned to his back with a knee. He does not live in the USA. The Washington Post writes that the Hill case should “scare everyone with car keys”. According to a report in the newspaper, 810 people were fatally shot by the police this year alone, and in 2023 this number will reach a record high of 1,163 people. Black people are twice as likely to be killed by the police as white Americans.

Fall Hill shows omnipresence of police brutality

According to a study by Mapping Police Violence, a nonprofit research organization, police use force on at least 300,000 people each year. These incidents include the use of stun guns, chokeholds, and dog attacks, among others. However, the data is incomplete because it only includes information from police departments that voluntarily responded to a request from Mapping Police Violence. The report also found that black people are more than three times more likely to be victims of violence by police officers than white people.

The violence directed against Hill once again highlights the pervasiveness of police brutality and systemic racism – including the threat that traffic stops can pose to Black Americans. In 2020, there were massive protests against the killing of George Floyd by police officers. That outrage continues; this year, Sonya Massey and Roger Fortson were shot by officers. Tyreek Hill has been luckier despite the violence against him. Perhaps because he is an NFL superstar.

“Let's make a change,” Hill wrote on X after his brief arrest. When asked to elaborate on his post in a CNN interview, he said he was trying to find a way to fix these grievances. “We've tried everything. We've protested. We've even knelt. … So what's next?”