Are Tyreek Hill’s off-field antics reaching a critical mass with not just the Miami Dolphins, but the NFL as a whole?
They’ve become too difficult to ignore. Three times in the last 12 months now, Hill has allegedly acted in a way that’s embarrassing at best, and downright unacceptable at worst.
Off-Field Concerns Mount for Miami Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill
The latest development in Hill’s rocky personal life:
The Miami Herald reported over the weekend that police were called to “a domestic dispute” at Hill’s residence in January.
The newspaper, citing police records, reported that a family member called 911 after becoming alarmed when she overheard Hill screaming at wife Keeta Vaccaro.
The couple were said to be fighting over a postnuptial agreement that Vaccaro did not want to sign. Hill, Vaccaro told cops, “bullied, threatened, and verbally abused” her. He at one point smashed an unlit cigar in her face, she told police.
Hill disputed that allegation, but did acknowledge he flicked the cigar in her direction. Ultimately, there were no charges filed, as there were no signs of a struggle or any visible marks on Vaccaro’s face or body.
“We are aware of the reports but will decline to comment,” the NFL said via a spokesman Monday.
NFL Punishment Possible?
Even if Hill is not charged, he could be punished — up to and including a suspension — by the league if it determines he violated its domestic violence and personal conduct policies.
Hill’s long history would presumably factor into any action the NFL would take.
This incident, if accurate, would add to the too-long list of examples of Hill’s issues with anger and impulse control.
Hill was kicked out of Oklahoma State after a 2014 arrest on charges of felony domestic assault and battery by strangulation. The victim? His girlfriend Crystal Espinal, who at the time was eight weeks pregnant with the couple’s child.
Hill ultimately agreed to a plea deal that included anger management.
Five years later, Hill was the subject of yet another domestic violence police investigation, this time involving his and Espinal’s three-year-old son, who suffered a suspicious broken arm.
Police ultimately decided not to press charges, but during the firestorm, a threatening audio recording of Hill was later made public, further damaging his reputation. The NFL looked into the incident but also elected not to take action.
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Hill largely stayed out of trouble for the next few years, and the Dolphins, sufficiently convinced that his issues were behind him, traded multiple picks to acquire him and then gave him the most lucrative contract by a wide receiver ever in 2022.
“Going forward, we feel good about it,” Dolphins GM Chris Grier told reporters two years ago this month. “We talked to a number of people that have been around Tyreek, especially in Kansas City the last few years. For us, we’re comfortable moving forward and the expectation, like him, will be for every player on the roster — it’s to be a good teammate and a good citizen in South Florida.”
A Troubling Trend
Hill largely had been — until recently.
Last June, when a South Florida marina employee accused Hill of slapping him in the back of the neck during a dispute. Police and the league looked into the dispute, but both inquiries petered out after Hill reached a settlement with the alleged victim.
“God has blessed me to be able to perform and do what I do, and I’m blessed and grateful for that,” Hill said last summer when asked about the incident. “I just can’t make boneheaded mistakes like that.”
Hill, who remains with Vaccaro despite filing for divorce a few months back only to blame his attorney for acting out of turn, is also the defendant in a lawsuit brought by Instagram model Sophie Hall.
Hill is accused of breaking Hall’s leg after a blocking tutorial at Hill’s home became heated.
All of this comes at an important time for Hill professionally. He knows he’ll be with the team in 2024, but beyond that, it’s a mystery right now.
There was buzz prior to free agency that the Dolphins would not just adjust Hill’s contract, but extend it. However, as of Monday morning, if there has been any sort of contract update, it wasn’t publicly known.
The Dolphins would be wise to tread carefully when it comes to committing another dime to Hill, even if he had no issues in his personal life.
Hill turned 30 earlier this month and is entering his ninth NFL season. While there certainly have been exceptions, wide receivers largely see a dropoff in effectiveness once they reach that stage of their careers.
Hill currently has no guaranteed money on his contract beyond this season (when he’s set to earn $19.7 million), so if the Dolphins wanted to move on after this season, they could do so without crippling financial consequences.
Hill hasn’t done anything at this point to convince the Dolphins that they no longer want to be associated with him. They’re willing to deal with his headaches off the field because of the incredible things he does on it.
But that can, and at some point surely will, change. And that Miami should make it abundantly clear to Hill that there could be consequences to his behavior.
“Tyreek has been a good addition for us, but in terms of all the off-field stuff, we’ll have to get all the information before we can really comment on it,” Grier said last month.
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