Tyreek Hill – September 8, 2024 (Postgame)
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Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024
Postgame – Jacksonville
Miami Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill
Q: Before we talk about the game, can we go through what you experienced? What happened?
TYREEK HILL: Right now, I been trying to figure that out, too. I’ve been trying to figure that out too, man. Right now I’m still trying to put it all together. So I’m not going to give you a version that I still don’t know what happened. But I do want to be able to use this platform to say ‘What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill?’ Like worst case scenario because it is crazy. I want to be a cop one day. I’ve got a state trooper hat and all of that, so I have a lot of respect for cops, man. Everybody has bad apples in every situation. I want to be able to use this platform to figure out a way to flip this and make it a positive on both ends, on my end and also Miami-Dade. So that way we continue together and do something positive for the community. That’s what it’s all about. You guys are here to protect us as individuals. I have a platform, and I want to be able to team up with you guys. That’s all I got to say.
Q: Why do you believe the police put you in handcuffs?
TYREEK HILL: I have no idea, for real. No idea. No idea, man. It’s crazy. No idea. I wasn’t disrespectful because my mom didn’t raise me that way. Didn’t cuss. Didn’t do none of that. So like I said, I’m still trying to figure it out, man.
Q: I guess the police officer was put on administrative leave. Were you aware of that?
TYREEK HILL: No, I wasn’t. I wasn’t. That should tell you everything you need to know then. That should tell you everything you need to know. That’s all I’m going to say about that situation. I’m just glad that my teammates were there to support me in that situation because I felt alone. When they showed up, it made me realize that we got a (expletive) good team this year, dawg, for them to put their life on the line. It was amazing to see.
Q: Was it on your mind when the game started? Or were you able to completely block it?
TYREEK HILL: The thing about me is I have a great support system at home, from my wife, from my mom. Then even when I come inside the locker room, my teammates. So I was able to pray with my family, able to talk to my wife and calm down a little bit, and I was straight. I know at the end of the day, I still got a job to do. Nobody worried about if ‘Reek comes in, if he drops three passes because he’s still thinking about the little scenario, nobody is thinking about that. I still got a job to do. I’ve got a family to feed. I’ve got to be a leader of this team. I’ve got to find ways to bounce through adversity, no matter, whenever it hits.
Q: How do you answer that question, what if you weren’t Tyreek Hill?
TYREEK HILL: It’s hard. I’m still trying to figure that out. It’s all across the world. You see it. I don’t want to bring race into it, but sometimes it gets kind of iffy when you do. What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill? Lord knows what that guy or guys would have done. I was just making sure that I was doing what my uncle always told me to do whenever you’re in a situation like that: just listen, put your hands on the steering wheel and just listen. You’ve got to be careful.
Q: Did an officer put hands on you when you were in handcuffs?
TYREEK HILL: Yeah.
Q: What was going through your head during that moment?
TYREEK HILL: I don’t know. I was thinking about something else. What was I thinking about? I was thinking about going for, like, 150 today, for real. (laughter) I was like I’m going to go crazy today, man. (laughter) Then all that happened and I’m like, ‘Hold on, is this happening?’ It happened. It happened so fast that it caught me off guard. I’m like, ‘Dang, they’re really doing this.’
Q: Why did they even pull you over?
TYREEK HILL: They said I was speeding. I don’t know. They said I was speeding – reckless driving, whatever.
Q: Did the officer know who you were?
TYREEK HILL: I have no idea. No idea.
Q: Were you able to say, I’m about to play a game?
TYREEK HILL: I wasn’t raised like that to name drop or flash. If you say I did something, write me a ticket. I’m a normal person, too. If you say I did something, write me a ticket, do whatever you got to do. But I’m saying don’t be disrespectful. I don’t know.
Q: How much planning went into that touchdown celebration?
TYREEK HILL: Hey, I knew immediately. Like, J.W. (Jaylen Waddle) was like, ‘Reek, if you get in that end zone today, show your tail, show your tail and I’ll do the rest.’ It was a planned celebration. Obviously we had something else. Then this all happened this morning. Like they say, man, free my dawg ‘Reek.
Q: How does it feel you and WR Jaylen Waddle combining for the domination that you had today after a slow start?
TYREEK HILL: It felt good. Like you said, we had a very slow start. First quarter, second quarter was not running good routes, not doing what we normally do. Just to see Waddle ball, make plays for us and get us going in that second half, that really got me going right there because we know that the offense, we need big plays. We’re a big-play offense. It was good to see Waddle do his thing. Yeah, it was great for us to come back and win the game in the second half.
Q: Building off this, I know you have a short week, how quick do you turn the dial to the Bills?
TYREEK HILL: You forget quick. We enjoy with the family tonight, enjoy with the teammates tonight and then move on to the Bills tomorrow. It’s just that fast. It’s how this business works.
Q: What do you think of QB Tua Tagovailoa’s performance today? Over 300 yards and get the win in the end.
TYREEK HILL: Tua, he stepped up in the second half. He did his thing. Second half he played lights out. Like I said, the first half, the offense, we all were like kind of timid a little bit, shaking all the dust off our knees and stuff like that. We were getting out of the huddle kind of slow. The thing that really motivated me the most was when we come in, during halftime, and this is like the first time I heard Tua’s Hawaiian accent. It’s crazy. Like, he was turned up and animated in the locker room. I’m like, ‘Ok, I’m liking this.’ He was going and I’m like, ‘Yeah, let’s go, man.’ He called me out. J.W. (Jaylen Waddle), T-Stead (Terron Armstead). I’m like, I’m loving this, bro. Me, I love accountability at its finest, because that’s what I grew up on. I grew up on my dad telling me, ‘Reek, I need you to be better. Not patting me on my back, not doing this. For my quarterback to call me out in front of the whole offense like that, I had to step up, I had to do my thing. I like that in a leader.
Q: You and RB De’Von Achane tied for the leader and receptions today. What’s your reaction to that?
TYREEK HILL: He’s moving to receiver, bro. (laughter) Achane is a dawg. He’s one of those guys that can do it all. Play running back, come out the backfield, catch passes like a wideout. He’s a very special talent, man. He’s going to continue to get better and help this offense. You never can have too much speed on the field at once. Having him and his availability is going to be special for this offense.
Q: I remember in the frozen Chiefs locker room after the playoff game, you said something like, we got to stop learning to be frontrunners. Did you learn today?
TYREEK HILL: You guys got to come up with a new narrative, I guess. You have to talk about something else. Y’all can’t say that we are frontrunners now. It’s amazing to see. It’s amazing to see like our team not feel sorry for ourselves early on in the game. Our defense had our back the whole entire game. We just came together as an offense, man. We decided like, ‘Hey, first of all, we got to call the plays, get out of the huddle fast and do what we normally do, baby.’ We’re fast. People don’t like to run fast with us in Miami. It’s too hot. We did that in the second half. We ran fast, ran some deep routes and we executed.
Q: I know it’s one game, but starting a season understanding where your goals are, what does a comeback win like this do versus being on the other side?
TYREEK HILL: It’s great. It’s great for the confidence. It’s great for the confidence in the locker room, for all the guys to see that, ‘Hey, we are not going to be easy to beat. Whether it’s home, whether it’s on the road, moving late into the season, not every game is going to be perfect. We know that. We are going to have games like this. Granted, we don’t want to put ourselves behind the eight ball. But if we have to, we still have to be mindful we can come back at any moment because we got the team to do it. We got some dawgs on this team, we got some alphas on this team. I’m just blessed to be a part of this team. Blessed to be here with you guys today.
Q: Was there added emotion playing this game today after what you experienced this morning?
TYREEK HILL: For sure. Like I said, I was in my, like, hubby phase, driving to work, feeling good. Then, when all this happened, I got turned up. I was pissed off, bro. Like on the sideline, I was (expletive) teed up. Today is the first day I really blocked somebody. Like I pancaked somebody today. No. 91, 6’8” – I pancaked him. I did that today. I was fired up today. Like I needed that. Sometimes I can get lazy, I can get this and that and get bored because I’m like I’m fast and I can run by you. I need that. So it is what it is.
