Tyreek Hill appeared to laugh off a controversial Halloween costume that recreated his Week 1 arrest in Miami, a moment that stirred up mixed emotions across social media. On Thursday, a photo of three children went viral, showing two of them dressed as police officers while the third wore a Dolphins jersey and football gear, pretending to be handcuffed.
The child wearing the Miami Dolphins jersey represented Hill, with the costume intended to depict his arrest during a traffic stop earlier in the season.
The photo drew heavy criticism online, with many slamming the group costume for making light of a serious and controversial event.
However, Tyreek Hill himself chose to respond with a light-hearted comment. Reposting the picture on X (formerly Twitter), Hill wrote, “A+ with the mullet,” followed by a smiling emoji, pointing out the kid wearing his jersey’s hairstyle rather than addressing the more serious implications of the costume.
The Halloween costume was inspired by an incident that occurred outside Hard Rock Stadium before the Miami Dolphins’ season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars. During a traffic stop, Hill was pulled from his car, handcuffed, and pinned to the ground by officers.
Though he was eventually released and went on to score a touchdown in Miami’s 20-17 win, the incident drew widespread criticism for what many saw as excessive force used by law enforcement officers.
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Prominent media figures also weighed in on the incident at the time. Stephen A. Smith took to social media, writing, “This story with the police involving @cheetah ain’t going away damnit.”
He went on to compare Hill’s treatment to that of professional golfer Scottie Scheffler, who was also arrested earlier in the year. “Traffic violation? Fine. But WTH was he face down in cuffs, stood up, then the other officer runs over behind him and forces him to the ground again??? Hell No! Excessive! Wrong! Again, this ain’t going away,” Smith wrote.
He added, “Look for yourself. This is b.s. Totally unnecessary. And btw…, I know the Scottie Scheffler incident was in Georgia — not Florida — and he was arrested, detained, booked.”
After the controversy, Tyreek Hill addressed the situation more candidly in a one-on-one interview with Taylor Rooks. During the interview, Hill admitted that he could have approached the situation better, acknowledging that some of his actions may have contributed to the escalation. However, he also revealed that one of the officers seemed to be trying to provoke him during the arrest.
“I tried to meet in the middle and say, ‘Here’s my ID,’ and leave my window barely cracked,” Hill explained. “It’s crazy to think about it now. Does that give them the right to pull me out of my car? No. It doesn’t give them the right to put their hands on me, antagonize me.”
Hill detailed how the situation became even more troubling once he was in handcuffs. “There was a lot of that going on… whenever I was handcuffed behind my back, the officer was pinching me on my neck. Like, trying to get me to do something to him.”
Reflecting on the incident, Hill said, “I just feel like this doesn’t represent the name on the back of my jersey the right way.” He added that the experience has given him a chance to bring attention to a broader issue. “The flip side of it is it’s great because I get a chance to at least try to bring awareness to what this entire county’s been trying to fix for the past decade.”
He emphasized the importance of accountability on both sides, saying, “You got pros, then you got cons in every situation. It’s all about what you’re doing. You learn from your situation, you hold yourself accountable. Like, how can you get better?”
In his message to his family and others, Hill maintained a hopeful outlook. “Let’s not get mad, let’s learn,” he said. “‘Cause the more we get mad, I feel like that’s moving us backward. It’s all about accountability on both sides.”
Since their opening-day victory, the Miami Dolphins have struggled, falling to a 2-5 record and currently sitting third in the AFC East.
Despite the team’s challenges on the field, Hill has remained focused on spreading a message of resilience and learning from adversity—a theme he echoed both on and off the field.
