Tyreek Hill Isn't An Innocent Angel, And The Media Is Lying To You | Hookstead

Tyreek Hill is an adult man responsible for his conduct, despite what the media might want you to believe.

The Miami Dolphins receiver was detained near Hard Rock Stadium early Sunday morning after a routine traffic stop for speeding went sideways.

Footage of Hill in handcuffs quickly went viral, hot takes were fired off before the full story came out and people were eager to rush to their corners with incomplete information.

A narrative was quickly established:

The actions of the police were malicious and Hill did nothing wrong.

This was immediately put out by his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, who called the situation "heartbreaking," and "mind-boggling" and noted he was "deeply concerned" by what happened.

Things took off from there. Jemele Hill even seemingly floated the idea that there might be a Donald Trump connection because the owner of the Dolphins - Stephen Ross - is conservative.

The body camera footage was released Monday, and it proves two things above all else:

Tyreek Hill was in the wrong, and the bigotry of low expectations is still very real.

Body camera footage shows Tyreek Hill shares the majority of responsibility for being detained

Let's start with the facts of the case as they unfolded in real time. We don't need to speculate anymore or wonder what happened. We know because the video isn't disputable.

A police officer approached Hill's car and tapped on the window. The NFL receiver immediately started arguing with the officer about why he touched his window. Illegal? Absolutely not. Rude? Without a doubt, and things only got worse from there.

Officers instructed Hill to keep his window down while they're speaking with him. He initially refused to comply and then only barely cracked it. While officers haven't said why they wanted his window down, the union representing the Miami-Dade officers released a statement that said, in part, the Miami star "was briefly detained for officer safety, after driving in a manner in which he was putting himself and others in great danger."

It's not at all uncommon for officers to ask people to keep their windows down if they're heavily tinted because they can't see what's happening inside. The driver could have a weapon or try to hide something. Below is what Hill's window looks like. Decide for yourself.

Body camera footage is out from Tyreek Hill being detained. (Credit: Screenshot/X Video https://x.com/dhookstead/status/1833284521891971561)

When Hill refused to comply with lowering his windows with officers right at this door, he was ordered out of his car. This is where it's important to be crystal clear, and what many in the media don't seem to mention.

An officer ordering a person out of their car during a stop in Florida isn't a suggestion. It's a lawful command. It must be complied with. It's not up for debate.

Hill seemed interested in more arguing, and that's when officers removed him from the vehicle, got him on the ground and placed him in handcuffs.

Shortly after that, Hill was told multiple times in very calm fashion to get down and "have a seat on the sidewalk." He refused to comply, saying "hold on, 12 [slang for police]" and then claimed he just had surgery. Keep in mind, Hill will play in an NFL game and dominate just hours later.

When Hill refused to comply, the pro athlete was taken to the ground by an officer who restrained him from behind. Was this necessary? Probably not, and it only further threw gas on the fire. However, Hill was told to get down multiple times and showed zero eagerness to comply with the order.

That's the order of events that are critically important:

• Argued with police.
• Refused to lower his window.
• Didn't get out of the car as soon as he was ordered.
• Didn't immediately comply when told to get down.

You don't have to like the facts, and you're free to believe the police have some level of responsibility. However, the facts are the facts, and the fact of the matter is Tyreek Hill is an adult man who deserves serious criticism for his conduct.

Yet, that's not happening.

The bigotry of low expectations is on display in this situation

Tyreek Hill behaved in an incredibly irresponsible, rude, and combative fashion and disobeyed or outright ignored simple police commands.

If our media was honest with itself, the narrative and focus would be on why a 30-year-old millionaire privileged pro athlete, who has a history of violence, believed he didn't need to follow simple instructions and lawful commands.

Instead, the narrative is attacking the police. People are calling on the cops to be fired, Ian Rapoport called it "horrifying," Emmanuel Acho called it "disgusting," Stephen A. Smith played the race card, RGIII said police abused their power and the Dolphins accused the officers of being "overly aggressive" and having "violent conduct" towards the team's star.

The Washington Post outright stated "a racial element still hangs over the image of Hill in handcuffs. Just as the nonchalance of his teammates makes clear — this is a real and familiar nightmare for many Black men in America."

Did we all watch the same video? What I saw was an adult man who, for some reason, thought he was above a proper police stop. This brings me to the bigotry of low expectations, which is simply the idea that a person shouldn't be held to the same standard of everyone else.

Body camera footage shows Tyreek Hill instigated altercation with police. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images)

We saw this in action when former Alabama basketball star Brandon Miller drove the car carrying a gun used to murder a young woman. Many of his defenders said that he couldn't have been expected to know better. Incorrect. He's an adult man, and expectations don't change because you can shoot a basketball.

While the age defense isn't being used for Hill, the media is telling us to ignore our eyes when it comes to the body camera footage. Again, this isn't a defense of the police and saying they were perfect.

It's pointing out the facts, and the fact is that Tyreek should know very well by the age of 30 that his actions were inappropriate. He decided to test the law and lost. Instead of, rightfully, pointing this out, we're watching an all-out defense and spin.

Why is that? Why is it that the media is so eager to defend Hill's actions? Would a random 30-year old get the same coverage if they refused to exit a vehicle or get down when told to? It's highly-unlikely.

Hill, who is among the most privileged people on the planet, gets a shield from the media. Apparently, you can't ask why an adult man behaved like he did, and I might be the only member of the media doing it. It doesn't take courage to go along with the bigotry of low expectations. It takes courage to point out that this is all nonsense and we're being lied to.

What if it wasn't Tyreek Hill?

Following the win over the Jaguars this past Sunday, Hill told the media, "I do want to use this platform to say, what if I wasn't Tyreek Hill, bro?"

That's a great question, and it's one we're going to unpack. What if a random person was pulled over for a simple traffic stop and then proceeded to escalate the situation?

I'm sure the outcome would have been the same, but it's also likely that never would have happened. The majority of traffic stops end after a few minutes and a ticket or warning.

If it wasn't Tyreek Hill, then the situation would probably have been over in a couple minutes. What happened Sunday happened because it *WAS* Hill, and he thought the rules didn't apply to him.

Now, I'm sure some people reading this or defenders of Hill will respond by saying, "You don't know how you'd react because you've never been in a situation like that before."

Tyreek Hill wasn't an angel when police stopped him in Miami. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)

Not true. I've been pulled over before, and it was "Yes, officer," "No, officer" and I complied with every order and then was cut loose.

However, unlike this situation, I've been in a serious police incident before. On a cool summer night in 2014, the same year Hill beat the pregnant mother of his future kid, I was in a house that was hit by a full-on police/SWAT raid.

My friend was having a party at his house, no laws were being broken, but a simple mistake led to officers breaching the house around midnight.

Based on bad intel collected by the officers, they believed someone was with us who was not. It was a simple mistake. Nothing more, nothing less, but do you know what I did when the first two officers in the stack came down the stairs and I was right there?

I got down and I listened to every single command. They moved us later to the living room so they could keep an eye on us while they searched the place. Once the mistake was realized, and they knew we were telling the truth, the officers left.

By the logic of people defending Hill, I was in a private residence, I didn't do anything wrong, and I should have had every right to argue with the police, refuse basic orders and have behaved like an idiot.

Those cops came in ready to meet actual resistance, and I knew immediately this wasn't a game or a joking matter. Why was I smart enough at the age of 22 to know how to conduct myself but Tyreek Hill doesn't know the same at the age of 30?

Are we to believe 22-year-old David Hookstead was smarter in a situation where a quick trigger finger might send bullets flying than Tyreek Hill during a routine traffic stop? If so, that's a pretty sad indictment of the opinion people truly have of Tyreek Hill.

The media is pushing a false narrative when it comes to Tyreek Hill. (Photo by Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)

This isn't a complicated situation. It's actually shockingly simple. Hill is responsible for his actions, he instigated the reaction by the cops and the media is selling the public falsehoods. Don't fall for it. Let me know what you think at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.