MIAMI GARDENS — In a normal week, Thursday night’s divisional showdown against the Buffalo Bills would have been the first, second and only topic of discussion when the Miami Dolphins met Tuesday.
Of course, it wasn’t.
Coach Mike McDaniel gathered the team to share feelings on the bodycam video that was released the night before, footage showing receiver Tyreek Hill’s confrontation with Metro-Dade Police before Sunday’s season-opening victory against Jacksonville.
“It’s an elephant in the room if you don’t address it,” safety Jevon Holland said.
“I think it’s important that everybody talks about it and Mike being biracial himself is definitely caught in the middle of that,” Holland said. “So I think it was good that he brought it up and he expressed his views and his emotions behind it. And I think it’s good that everybody’s been speaking up about it.”
More: PBA should police its own, not criticize Miami Dolphins' Tyreek Hill | Habib
Police said Hill was stopped for driving an estimated 60 mph, or 20 over the limit, on 199th Street, on the south side of Hard Rock Stadium. The issue quickly escalated with Hill being handcuffed and twice taken to the ground. When teammates, including Calais Campbell, tried to intervene, he. too. was handcuffed. Although players were detained, they were not arrested and soon joined teammates to prepare for the game. On the video, Hill can be heard alleging that race played a role in how he was treated.
“Driving while Black is a thing that I’ve been dealing with my whole life,” Holland said. “You get pulled over, my homeboy driving is white, I’m Black, they flash the light on me. You know what I mean? So it’s just a thing that you kind of live with as a Black person.”
Jevon Holland: Difficult to expect change is coming
Holland wanted to be optimistic that things will change. But he found it hard to find reasons for optimism.
“Things happen over and over again the same way, so it’s unfortunate,” he said. “You would think that kind of stuff withers out. I mean, I was alive in 2020, George Floyd, and you don’t really want to bring those things up because they were serious, major incidences, and a lot of people had controversial topics about it, opinions. But it’s unfortunate that we’re still talking about the same thing after so long. I bring up Rodney King because that was kind of the first one caught on tape. I remember my family members telling me that was a thing. It just happened all the time. They just so happened to catch that one on tape.”
The Dolphins released a sharply worded statement shortly after the video came out calling the officers’ actions “despicable” and “overly aggressive and violent.” The Dolphins called on Metro-Dade Police to take “swift and strong action” against the officers.
“It’s good to know that the team and the organization has your back,” Holland said.
Holland made it clear he wasn’t critical of all police.
“I know police officers myself that are good people,” he said. “But unfortunately, there are some people that just happen to get power drunk or take things to a level that don’t need to be taken there. And it’s unfortunate, the result.”
At the same time, Holland was critical of anyone trying to use incidents from Hill’s past against him now.
“If you’re an individual that brings up those things to try to justify the wrongdoings or the shortcomings of another person, then I think you’re just moving the goalposts for your own narrative,” he said.
Left tackle Terron Armstead, a team captain, said he felt several emotions watching the video.
“Frustration, sad, feeling for ‘Reek and ‘Reek just being a representation of a lot of other people that have been through those situations.”
Braxton Berrios: 'Escalation for no apparent reason'
Multiple players were critical of how quickly the incident escalated. Hill said police went from “0 to 60.”
“The escalation for no apparent reason,” said receiver Braxton Berrios.
Armstead agreed.
“Nothing, I felt like, warranted, their reaction,” Armstead said. “Anytime you’re getting physical for a traffic stop, it doesn’t ever end too well.”
Hill responded by catching seven passes for 130 yards and an 80-yard touchdown in the 20-17 victory. Just as quickly, the Dolphins had to at least attempt to turn their attention to the Bills on a short week. Armstead doesn’t expect players to do anything out of the ordinary at Thursday night’s game to make a statement about the incident.
“We won’t march, kneel – not to my knowledge,” Armstead said. “We’re definitely talking about doing some things that will be real-life impactful. So whether that’s conversations with the police department and other leaders in the community, with myself, Tyreek and a few other leaders on the team — we want to do something that will be really impactful, not just make statements. I’m not a fan of empty statements.”
Dolphins reporter Hal Habib can be reached at hhabib@pbpost.com . Follow him on social media @gunnerhal.
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This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Miami Dolphins teammates defend Tyreek Hill, say 'no apparent reason' for treatment on video
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