Predictably, the Tyreek Hill controversy with the Miami-Dade Police Department, which saw the Miami Dolphins wide receiver get slammed to the pavement prior to the kickoff of the NFL season, has taken on a life of its own.
And after watching body-cam footage of police forcefully dragging Hill from his car, sports media figures differed in how they viewed the situation.
Stephen A. Smith wondered aloud how much responsibility Hill bore in escalating the situation , but Chris Canty disagreed vehemently. On Tuesday’s UnSportsmanlike , the 11-year NFL veteran defensive lineman turned ESPN Radio personality didn’t mention Smith’s point or acknowledge Hill’s culpability. Instead, he made it a referendum on police misconduct and the NFL’s role in addressing it.
Canty argued that the incident was a clear example of excessive force and that the league should take a stronger stance against such behavior.
“The NFL acknowledged that they were wrong once upon a time with how they treated Colin Kaepernick when he tried to give voice to this specific issue — the mistreatment of Black people at the hands of police officers,” Canty said. “The NFL acknowledged that post-George Floyd. This is an opportunity for the NFL to take all that performative allyship they had back in 2020, 2021, and 2022 and put it to good use. Because it’s clear that this was an overstep by the law enforcement. And that’s why we heard that one officer, as early as Sunday afternoon, had been put on administrative duties pending the investigation.
“They were wrong; it’s two left shoes. Not only how they treated Tyreek Hill but how they tried to bully Jonnu Smith and Calais Campbell into leaving the scene and not recording the incident. There’s got to be some level of accountability, and for my money, the accountability is not being put on desk duty; the accountability is making sure those people are not involved in law enforcement moving forward because they can’t be trusted.”
Canty saw clearly and obviously that the officers in question were intent on putting the 30-year-old Hill in his place.
“They wanted to put that ‘boy’ in his place,” he added. “They saw him driving a quarter million dollar car on his way into the stadium, and they said, ‘You know what, we’re going to pull him over, and if he gives us any reason, we’re going to rip him out of the car and slam him to the pavement.’ And the reason I know that was the mentality is because of what they said when they ripped Tyreek Hill out of his car, and they told him, ‘You got it effing confused.’ I’m sorry, but the police officers are there to protect and serve. Using that type of language toward Tyreek Hill, who’s clearly terrified in that situation, is not protecting or severing anyone but yourself.”
Canty further criticized the police department, stating that their actions contribute to a pattern of bias and mistreatment against Black American males. He emphasized that this behavior neglects their fundamental responsibility to protect the public, including individuals like Tyreek Hill.
“You wanted to make a point to Tyreek Hill, who was flip when he told you to give him his ticket so he can go about his way,” says Canty. “And here’s the thing, as a former player, I understand when you’re driving into the stadium, you have a one-track mind. You’re thinking about what you gotta do out there on the football field to help your team win. When you’re driving, you don’t expect to be pulled over. It’s a curveball, and I can understand why Tyreek Hill wanted to give him his license, get the ticket, get the hell out there, and get to the stadium.
“I understand that. What I don’t understand is how a police officer can rip open his, rip him out of the car. No take him out of the car, rip him out of his car, slam on the pavement face first and cuff him, and tell him he got it effing confused. And then, once you got him cuffed, make him sit down on the pavement because you don’t want him to stand. The police officers wanted Tyreek Hill beneath them, both literally and figuratively. And that’s the kind of crap that Black Americans can’t stand. And that’s why we’re so frustrated, because when the country talked about wanting to reckon with race after George Floyd, we still have stuff like this popping up, as if we haven’t seen it enough.
“As if we didn’t have to deal with it with Sandra Bland. As if we hadn’t had to deal with it with Terence Crutcher. As if we didn’t have to deal with it with Walter Scott. As if we didn’t have to deal with it with Philando Castile. This keeps coming up! Black Americans being stopped by law enforcement and not knowing if they gonna make it home. And so when Tyreek Hill says, ‘What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill?’ He’s absolutely right.”
[ UnSportsmanlike ]
The post Chris Canty: ‘The police officers wanted Tyreek Hill beneath them’ appeared first on Awful Announcing .
Local News
