By Nunnie Robinson, Westside Gazette Sports Editor
Just when you think it can’t get any worse, and coming on the heels of our country’s largest police union endorsing 45, Dolphins star Tyreek Hill is detained, forced to the ground and handcuffed after being charged with reckless driving within walking distance of the Hardrock Stadium prior to game. Without knowing specific details, traffic violations rarely end with the perpetrator on ground in handcuffs. Hill was uncertain about why he was handcuffed, feeling that the police officers’ actions were unwarranted because he wasn’t physically or verbally abusive or disrespectful. 17 year NFL veteran and teammate Calais Campbell was also handcuffed and briefly detained after he attempted to peacefully intervene and diffuse the situation. The police treatment and interaction with Black people just became more transparent and stark as I reflect on the two most recent assassinations of Blacks by the police: the young airman in Florida and the senseless shooting of the mentally distressed mother by a poorly trained, racist cop who felt threatened because she rebuked him in the name of Jesus and a pot of boiling water. Police associations like 45 because he won’t hold them accountable, even encouraging pernicious behavior, but there are serious concerns that must be addressed. Tom Brady’s wife Gisele Bundchen never experienced such treatment nor did the world’s number one golfer Scottie Scheffler in Louisville. Granted, Tyreek has made some reckless, juvenile mistakes since arriving in Miami including his child’s broken arm incident which caused an investigation, a football tutorial session with a young lady which evolved into an injury and subsequent lawsuit and domestic assault charges filed by his then live-in pregnant girlfriend. The maturation process for Tyreek is ongoing; however, the widening gap inherent in policing of our community demands change, answers and solutions.
On a lighter and more positive note re the opening week of NFL football: between the opening Thursday Night game – Kansas City vs. Baltimore, the first ever NFL game in Brazil featuring the Eagles and the Packers, the Dolphins’ scintillating comeback victory over Jacksonville, Sunday’s amazing overtime victory by the Lions over the Rams and the Monday Night game between the 49ers and the Jets (Aaron Rodgers played most of game), the league couldn’t have A I’d it any better. And finally a rhetorical inquiry: what do the following NFL teams have in common- Miami, Philadelphia, Seattle, Chicago, Green Bay, Carolina, Arizona, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Kansas City, Dallas, Washington, Houston, Indianapolis and New England? If I left no one out, 16 NFL teams started Black quarterbacks or QBs of color.
