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Stephen A. Smith is urging Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill to take some responsibility for the incident that occurred with Miami police.
“When it comes to Tyreek Hill, we also can’t let him completely off the hook based on the statement that was made by the police department in Florida,” Stephen A. Smith said on First Take. “They said, quote-unquote, he was uncooperative.
“We have a responsibility on this show and any kind of platform that we have to make sure we’re doing what we can to save lives. To make sure that we’re doing what we can to ensure that somehow, some way, you get to live another day and fight that battle. We know how wrong they were. The police were excessive, no excuses, they should be ashamed of themselves, the way they acted, they just went overboard, totally true.”
Stephen A. Smith also said police were wrong in how they treated Hill’s teammates Calais Campbell and Jonnu Smith, who were not posing any threat when they stopped to help Hill.
“Here’s the problem, we all came on the air seeing the initial footage in complete, unadulterated support for Tyreek Hill,” Smith then continued. “You pull over, they tell you to roll down your window, what’s the first thing Shannon [Sharpe] just talked about? The first thing they do when they pull us over, when they pull me over, all my windows are down, my hand’s on the steering wheel, that is not what Tyreek Hill did.
“Tyreek Hill had his window up, the officer knocks on his window, he didn’t bang on his window he knocked on his window, you hesitated to pull it down, the first thing you say is, ‘Don’t bang on my window like that.’… He asks you for your driver’s license, you hesitated to give him your driver’s license.
“You said in the post-game conference, ‘Hey, y’all, what if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill?’ What if you aren’t Tyreek Hill? What would have happened to you if somebody that wasn’t Tyreek Hill kept the windows rolled up, hesitated to roll it down, didn’t give you the license immediately when you asked for it, and then hesitated to get out the car when they told you to get out the car?
“See, we got to be responsible. The point I’m trying to make is this, in no way should the officers be excused for what they did. … I also am saying, ‘Yo, Tyreek, yo, bro, you didn’t deserve that, I’m not implying that you did.’ But the police officers do have the power. When they pull up on you and they tell you to roll down that window, and they tell you to give you your driver’s license, and they tell you to get out that car, that’s what you got to do.”
“When it comes to Tyreek Hill, we also can’t let him completely off the hook based on the statement that was made by the police department.” – Stephen A. Smith pic.twitter.com/JLunSXOANm
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 10, 2024
Smith also addressed the incident on his show, and asked why police felt the need to be so rough with Tyreek Hill.
“Let’s keep in mind that Scottie Scheffler, when he was arrested in Kentucky, all right. Months ago in May, if I remember correctly,” Stephen A. Smith said.
“When that happened, he was placed in handcuffs and booked. So let’s understand this is not a story about the handcuffs. This is not a story about Tyreek Hill being detained. It’s how he was detained. That’s the story.
“Why do you need him face down on the ground? Y’all know how hot is was in Florida yesterday? You know what, how hot that ground must have been? You put his body and his face on the pavement. You feel a need for three, four different officers to surround him while that’s happening? Once you put him in cuffs behind his back, you stand him up. And then afterwards, some other officer comes down a minute later or so and forcibly sits him down. Why?”
This Tyreek Hill situation has me asking: Why? pic.twitter.com/iQKGOA7jMu
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) September 9, 2024