The race between Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill and Olympic Gold Medalist Noah Lyles has been cancelled. Lyles pulled out of the race due to “personal reasons”, causing Dolphins fans everywhere to breathe a sigh of relief.
It’s not a worry about him participating in a race in his free time. Rather, a history of controversial and, frankly, all too public actions that have given headaches to fans and media alike. Tyreek Hill symbolizes a relic of an era that Mike McDaniel and company hope to be rid of.
The team has spoken about it all off-season. Dumping the distractions and moving forward with their culture shift has been the talk of the town. However, their most talented player portrays every narrative they’ve sought to avoid.
Along with the race, Tyreek spoke on a live stream with Adin Ross, saying that he wanted to “knock out” Mike McDaniel for not getting him the ball, and has been trolling on social media about his potential departure since the season ended.
This is without discussing the domestic dispute that happened in April that resulted in the police being called.
Exhaustion
Nobody is telling Tyreek Hill to stop talking or building his internet presence. It is, rather, the manner in which he does so that causes issues. The same controversy that follows him is the same type that leads fans to say “same old Dolphins”. It’s the reason that a significant portion of the fanbase hates primetime games, can’t stand Tua discourse, and can’t hear the names Tom Brady or Sean Payton without turning visibly red.
The Dolphins, and more specifically their fans, are tired of being the butt of the joke. They’re tired of feeling singled out time and time again, and this rebuild has been full of it. They’re THE team who can’t win December games, THE team with a concussion-prone QB, and now, THE team with the receiver who’s always in the news.
This offseason program has been a breath of fresh air. All the talk about a culture shift is coming from the right people, and there are reasons to believe it’s a real thing. However, this version of Tyreek Hill still feels the same, and doesn’t spark belief in a new identity for the team.
