Tyreek Hill Incident Underscores Problem With Media Coverage Of Race And Police | Bobby Burack

On Sunday morning, news broke that Miami police had handcuffed Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill en route to a football game. Very few details were available at the time. Yet the usual suspects in the media didn't need details to develop a conclusion. They saw a black man on the ground in cuffs and that was enough.

ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith called the incident an example of the "dehumanization" black men face at the hands of police in America. 

"This is a real and familiar nightmare for many Black men in America," wrote the Washington Post. 

Former CNN host Bomani Jones told CNN the photos of Hill reminded him of other black men abused by officers, namely Michael Brown, who was shot by police in Ferguson, Missouri.

"Tyreek Hill’s traffic stop revives discussion about the realities faced by Black drivers," read a headline from the AP.

Even Hill himself attributed the "arrest" to his race. "I’m just being a black man, that’s it. I’m just being black in America in a nice car," he is heard shouting on the body camera footage:

At this point, you'd expect us to cite the argument that the treatment of Hill was racially motivated. Perhaps the Latino cops in question have a history of racist actions or remarks. Maybe an officer said something racist to Hill. 

No Evidence Race Was A Factor

There had to be something in the body cam footage that was at least arguably racist, right?

Nada.

As of publication, there is not a single ounce of evidence that race was a factor in the incident. 

The footage from the scene shows the following: Hill appearing to speed before being pulled over, arguing with police, refusing to lower his tinted window, refusing to get out of the car when asked, and not complying with orders to get down once removed from the car.

We encourage you to watch the full footage below:

Call Drew. Call Drew!

Tyreek Hill initiated the conflict. He was rude and disobedient to the officers. He caused them to react aggressively by rolling up his tinted window, leaving questions about whether he was armed.

Now, that does not mean the officers handled the traffic stop appropriately. They didn't. 

There was little need to put Hill in a headlock and force him to the ground after he exited the car. The officer who shouted at Hill's teammate and demanded ID looked like he wanted to flex his power.

Two statements can be true at once. Hill and the police are both at fault. What statement appears not to be true is that race was a factor.

Just because a police officer mistreats a black American does not make their actions racist. Police mistreat white Americans all the time; it just doesn't make the news as often.

In fact, an eerily similar event occurred when police arrested the golfer Scottie Scheffler in May and allegedly hit him with a flashlight. Funny, people like Stephen A. said Scheffler "deserved" it at the time. Why the disparate response?

Media Has A Hot Take Incentive

Put simply, the legacy media is incentivized to hot take every story within the first 24 hours to maximize clicks and retweets. There are few better ways to maximize engagement than blaming a story on racism.

The instant and faulty reaction to the Hill traffic stop is a classic case of journalists penning a conclusion before the body of the story is complete. 

Outlets like ESPN, CNN, the Washington Post, and AP decided the incident was racist before receiving proof the incident was. Now, each outlet is forced to work backward and fill out the body of the story to match their preferred conclusion.

And that dynamic underscores a larger trend in society, in which journalists are programmed to view conflicts involving police and black men through a deceptive racial lens.

In 2020, Black Lives Matter burned American cities in the name of George Floyd and racial injustice. Four years later, we have yet to learn of a single piece of evidence that showed race was a motivating factor in Derek Chauvin, a troubled officer, deciding to kneel on Floyd's neck. There is the reason the prosecution did not cite racism during the trial – there was no proof.

As much as Al Sharpton and grifting civil rights attorney Ben Crump swear otherwise, police are not on the prowl to harm black men. Unfortunately, spreading inflammatory narratives about race is an entire and lucrative industry. So, it continues.

We are led to believe white supremacists are the greatest impediment to racial progress in America. That is not true. The people who benefit from the racial division, starting with the corporate media, are.

Tyreek Hill looks bad. As do the officers at the scene. But the pundits weaponizing the incident to incite racial division look the worst.