HOFer Charles Barkley drops candid reaction to Tyreek Hill's detainment as bodycam footage surfaces: "That’s the one thing you cannot do"
On the Roc and Manuch Show on Monday, Charles Barkley commented on the detainment of Miami Dolphins star Tyreek Hill outside Hard Rock Stadium in Miami ahead of their season opener on Sunday. The Hall of Famer also spoke about the media in the situation.
"I don't know what happened, I think it clearly escalated quickly. I hate that we're going to throw it into the media because the guys are going to quickly go to race and it bothers me because we don't know what happened. We got so many fools in the media who love to play the race card," Barkley said.
He also highlighted Hill's alleged lack of cooperation while mentioning a critical point that a celebrity ought not to make in such situations.
"I think the one thing you can't do as a celebrity, you can't say, 'You know who I am?' Like I said, I don't know what happened, but that's the one thing you cannot do. You say, 'Yes sir,' cooperate one hundred percent," Barkley continued. "I saw the police reports, it said that he was uncooperative."
Watch the segment at 11:25 here:
As seen in the bodycam footage of the Miami-Dade Police Department, a police officer asked Tyreek Hill through his open car window why he did not have his seatbelt on. Following a brief exchange, the NFL star rolled up his window and the officer knocked on it while ordering Hill to open the window.
Hill partially opened the window and the officer proceeded to tell him to get out of the car. Meanwhile, another officer opened the car door, grabbed Hill by the back of his head and forced him to the pavement. An officer handcuffed him with a knee pressed against Hill's back.
Watch the footage here:
Karl-Anthony Towns reacts to Tyreek Hill's detainment
Minnesota Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns also reacted to the footage. Towns took to X, formerly Twitter, to question the actions of the police and called it "disgusting."
"That @cheetah police video is not only disturbing, but disgusting. Like he said, what would’ve happen if he wasn’t who he is?" Towns tweeted.
Tyreek Hill was reportedly detained for driving in a manner that was “putting himself and others in a great risk of danger." Shortly after the release of the video, Stephanie V. Daniels, the Director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, announced that one of the officers is under investigation and is currently on administrative duty.