The NFL returned with plenty of action over the weekend but Tyreek Hill found himself in the headlines before he even stepped in a stadium Sunday.
Astonishing scenes unfolded near Hard Rock Stadium when the wide receiver was dragged from his car, violently pinned to the ground and placed in handcuffs over a mere speeding violation.
It was a shell-shocking display. One that has been described as ‘overly aggressive,’ ‘violent,’ ‘maddening and heartbreaking,’ and ‘despicable behavior’ by the Dolphins and has left Hill himself demanding for the dismissal of a Miami-Dade police officer – a cop who claimed to not know who he was.
And frankly, Hill’s alleged anonymity is a bold, eye-raising claim given his blockbuster NFL appeal and storied flirtation with the law. This is a player who is never too far from the headlines.
The 30-year-old is one of the league’s biggest names both for his Super Bowl-winning ability on the field and his headline-grabbing ability off it. He may be dubbed the Cheetah for his blistering speed in the game – and seemingly on the roads too – but it’s the rollercoaster of his life and career that’s the fastest part about him and the latest incident is just the latest twist and turn.
Tyreek Hill was dragged from his car and placed in handcuffs after being pulled over Sunday
On paper, Hill has enjoyed a dream NFL career. An eight-time Pro Bowler and five-time First-Team All-Pro, Hill reached the mountaintop with the Kansas City Chiefs winning Super Bowl LIV.
He went on to swap the Super Bowl for South Beach where he landed a lucrative payday. One that was deserved for his output on the field.
Hill signed a four-year, $120 million extension with $72 million guaranteed with the Dolphins in 2022 when the Chiefs sought to reduce payroll by giving him permission to seek a trade.
It’s a paycheck he now spends on the SoFlo lifestyle, luxury sports cars, his wife Keeta… and multiple child support payments – ten, if rumors are to be believed.
Hill and Keeta, who he tied the knot with in November 2023, announced in July that they are expecting their first child together. But won’t be the first baby the NFL star has welcomed. It’s not even the first baby Hill has welcomed in the past two years.
He already paid $13,500 in monthly child support for his three kids with former fiancée Crystal Espinal, before he was declared the father of three babies by three different mothers over the course of the past year.
Hill has been ruled to be the father of Soul Corazon Hill, born in February 2023 to Brittany Lackner, 30, and Trae Love Hill, born on May 2 last year to Kimberly Kaylee Baker, 30, in separate paternity suits.
Meanwhile, Camille Valmon, 33, confirmed to DailyMail.com last year that Hill was also the father of her son Tyreek Hill Jr., born March 2023.
Baker said she was receiving $2,500 from him each month but estimated the real cost of caring for their daughter was closer to $10,000, while Lackner also said his initial offer of $2,500-a-month was ‘woefully inadequate’ for someone on a $30million salary before the pair reached a confidential deal.
The wide receiver won Super Bowl LIV with the Kansas City Chiefs in February 2020
Hall, a father-of-seven, recently revealed he and his wife Keeta Vaccaro are expecting a child
DailyMail.com revealed that three different women came forward to allege they had children with the NFL star all within four months of each other
In an April interview with the ‘Million Dollaz Worth Of Game’ YouTube channel it was put to Hill that he had as many as 10 kids.
He didn’t confirm, nor deny the tally but instead insisted: ‘It don’t matter how many kids I have. A lot of people won’t be able to say Tyreek don’t take care of his kids though.’
Yet an NFL career dogged with controversies spells out a different story.
Hill’s scandal-hit personal life dates back to 2014 when he was kicked off the team at Oklahoma State for choking his then-fiancee while she was pregnant with their first son, Zev Carter.
Hill reportedly choked and punched Crystal Espinal and was arrested while a student at Oklahoma State.
In 2015, he pleaded guilty to domestic assault and battery by strangulation, and received three years probation. His conviction was dismissed and the charges were expunged in August 2018 after Hill completed probation requirements.
Espinal gave birth to their son in 2015 and the couple reportedly got engaged in 2018. Yet, just one year later, they became estranged after he was investigated over an incident in which their boy suffered a broken arm at their home.
Later it was revealed that Overland Park (Kansas) police responded to the same address on March 5 to investigate a report of child abuse or neglect. Hill’s name is also listed on that report.
The Miami Dolphins star, 30, insisted that he takes care of all of his children
Hill was investigated for an alleged battery incident involving a juvenile, said to be his three-year-old son, at his home back in 2019
His former fiancee, Crystal Espinal (left), gave birth to their son in 2015 and the couple reportedly got engaged in 2018 but became estranged after the 2019 incident with their son
Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe released a statement on April 24, explaining that he believed a crime had occurred, but there was not enough evidence to charge anyone.
The next day, local station KCTV released secretly recorded audio from an airport in Dubai in which a man, believed to be Hill, threatened a woman, believed to be Espinal, as she accused him of hurting their child.
After being told the boy ‘is terrified’ of him, an enraged Hill responded: ‘You need to be terrified of me, too, b****.’
Howe immediately re-opened the investigation as Hill was suspended indefinitely by the Chiefs.
The re-opened investigation was unceremoniously closed again weeks later as Hill remained barred from the team during voluntary summer workouts and the Chiefs’ mandatory minicamp.
Hill’s suspension was lifted in July of 2019, and while he continued to deny hurting his son, he did express regret about threatening Espinal, who was pregnant with twins at the time.
Hill was not invited to the 2016 NFL Combine due to his 2014 arrest and wasn’t expected to be drafted.
But the red flags didn’t deter the Chiefs from taking a punt on him at No. 165 overall. The red flags also didn’t stop Kansas City inking Hill to a three-year, $54million extension. Nor did they stop Miami from signing him to his $120 million deal in 2022.
He pleaded guilty to domestic assault and battery by strangulation of Espinal in 2015
And the scandals have only followed him to the Sunshine State. In June 2023, he got into another scrap when he was caught on CCTV allegedly slapping a Miami marina employee who declined to press charges over the incident.
Hill, who was entering his second year with the Miami Dolphins, admitted that he couldn’t afford another incident.
‘I just can’t make bonehead mistakes like that,’ Hill told reporters at the time. Yet, the mistakes have continued to roll in.
Hill filed for divorce only 76 days after tying the knot with his on-again, off-again fiancee Keeta. But in yet another plot twist, he immediately accused his ‘f***ing bonehead lawyers’ of filing for divorce on his behalf without permission.
Months after the drama – and confusion – of a faux divorce, the wideout was dealt a devastating blow when a fire ripped through Hill’s seven-bed Southwest Ranches mansion, causing an estimated $2.3 million worth of damage. Authorities said the January 3 blaze was sparked by a child playing with a lighter.
Hill is also currently ensnared in a bizarre negligence suit filed by plus-size influencer Sophie Hall, who claims he broke her leg during a backyard football lesson in June 2023.
OnlyFans model Hall, 35, says she humiliated Hill by knocking him off his feet and he responded by charging at her with ‘crushing force’.
Hill’s lawyers insist he never touched Hall – and say she hurt herself tripping over a dog.
Firefighters rushed to the home of Tyreek Hill after a huge fire broke out in January
Sophie Hall, an OnlyFans model, is suing Hill for allegedly charging at her with ‘crushing force’
Meanwhile, Hill has also found himself embroiled in various online spats from bickering with Olympic gold medalist Noah Lyles to exchanging blows with Robert Griffin III over his ESPN firing.
So, yes, Hill has a history in the spotlight for the positive and the negative aspects of both his professional and personal lives. And yes, on Sunday he was once again thrust into the headlines, but this time he was very much the victim.
Should Hill have been speeding? Absolutely not. Was his behavior absolutely perfect? Perhaps not. Even he admitted he could have been more cooperative. But did the police have the right to ‘beat the dog out’ of him? No.
Hill showed maturity and humility when he was asked on Wednesday if he thought he could have been more cooperative with cops after the bodycam footage of the incident emerged . He said: ‘I have (thought about it). My whole life is all about accountability. How can I get better?
‘I have family members who are cops. We’ve had conversations. Yes, I will say I could have been better. I could have let down my window in that instant.
‘The thing about me is I don’t want attention. I don’t want to be cameras out, phones on you in that moment. But at the end of the day I am human, I have got to follow rules and do what everyone else would do.
Astonishing scenes unfolded near Hard Rock Stadium when the wide receiver was detained
‘Now, does that give them the right to literally beat the dog out of me? Absolutely not. But at the end of the day I wish I could go back and do things a bit differently.’
It’s an attitude that earned Hill praise from Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel, who insisted that through his storied career the wide receiver has grown.
‘Tyreek is a different human being than when I first met him,’ McDaniel told reporters. ‘He continues to evolve… You are held accountable for the things that people know. Sometimes when you’re taking a step forward, there’s another step back.’
Hill said this week he doesn’t want attention but like it or not, through fault of his own or not, he’s a character who’s never too far from the headlines – for the good and the bad.
