Dan Le Batard is accusing HBO’s Hard Knocks show of engaging in “sportswashing” Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill’s reputation by downplaying his past and current legal issues.
Hill, an undeniably talented player, was on track for a stellar season before an ankle injury sidelined him for the Dolphins’ Week 15 game. He had already achieved the remarkable feat of surpassing 1,000 receiving yards by the eighth game of the season, a milestone unseen in the Super Bowl era. Many pundits believed he had a genuine shot at exceeding 2,000 yards before his injury.
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Given Hill’s prominence, it’s understandable that HBO’s Hard Knocks, featuring the Dolphins mid-season, heavily focused on the star wide receiver. However, Le Batard takes issue with how the show portrayed Tyreek Hill, the person.
Le Batard stated on The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz, “Tyreek Hill came here to get stardom and to ‘sportswash’ some of his past, and he’s largely done that. He is a star, talked about for MVP, and very few people bring up horrifying details of his domestic abuse past.”
Le Batard pointed out the episode of Hard Knocks showcasing Hill’s wedding during the team’s bye week, emphasizing the positive optics and the portrayal of love while avoiding discussions about Hill’s troubled past.
“Tyreek Hill came here to get stardom and to ‘sportswash’ some of his past, and he’s largely done that,” Le Batard said on Thursday’s edition of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz. “He is a star, talking about him for MVP, and very few people bring up horrifying details of his domestic abuse past. It seems like sports has moved on to celebrate Tyreek Hill for being super fast. And we moved on, like him, fast.”
Despite this, Le Batard highlighted recent reports of two paternity suits involving Hill, three children born this year, and a total of seven children overall. He questioned the changing landscape of media and documentaries, suggesting that access to Hill comes with an agreement to tell the story as he and the NFL prefer.
“But now you’re seeing reports of two paternity suits, three children in this year, and seven children overall, and I’m asking you genuinely as this whole climate of media and documentary changes so that the access… what you get in exchange for Tyreek Hill and access to him is you’re going to tell the story the way he wants it told, the way the way the NFL wants it told.”
Le Batard did not mention Hill’s alleged altercation with a fishing charter company employee in 2022, which ended in a settlement before training camp. He also omitted Hill’s investigation for alleged battery after an incident resulting in his three-year-old son’s broken arm, where he was not charged but faced temporary child custody issues. Furthermore, Le Batard neglected to bring up Hill’s 2014 arrest and guilty plea for domestic assault and battery by strangulation against his then-pregnant 20-year-old girlfriend, leading to his removal from the Oklahoma State football team.
Le Batard implies that Hill’s explosive on-field performance shields him from the consequences his past actions would likely have incurred if he weren’t such a dominant NFL receiver.