While addressing the media on Monday, Miami Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel was emotional when answering questions about an incident in which multiple players were detained by police on their way to Hard Rock Stadium prior to Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“For me personally, it’s been hard for me not to get more upset the more I think about it,” McDaniel said. “That’s because of my teammates, and trying to put myself in that situation that they described emotionally. … I think the thing that f—- me up honestly to be quite frank is knowing that I don’t know exactly what that feels like.”
Miami wide receiver Tyreek Hill was briefly handcuffed and detained by Miami-Dade (Florida) Police for what the Dolphins described as a minor traffic violation. Defensive end Calais Campbell, the 2019 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year, was also handcuffed and detained by police after Campbell said he stopped on his way to the stadium to try to “deescalate the situation.”
Hill and Campbell are both Black, and McDaniel, who identifies as biracial, was asked about the dynamic of race and policing in the U.S.
“It’s two part because I guess my journey has left me aware, but at the same time there’s a huge level of, I don’t know because I’m not — simply by my appearance — I don’t have a history of feeling profiled,” McDaniel told reporters on Monday. “I’m not sure if that makes it … for me, in particular, I just feel pretty helpless at times. But it’s really not about the emotions that it arises for me, it’s about the people in it. … It’s probably more visceral because yes, I do spend a lot of time prioritizing empathy. When you know you can’t truly understand, the unknown is what crushes me. I can only forecast, and so my forecast, what if it’s worse? … Since I was young, the racial relations, and all things involved in that has been … just kind of one of those things from the outside looking at everything going on. I know for one thing, my appearance lends me to the journey of many not alienated.”
McDaniel was asked what kind of message he delivers to his players following an incident like Sunday’s, given that he might not know what their experiences are like.
“I think it’s better to listen, more than anything,” McDaniel said. “I think life is super humbling, and I think it’s important to recognize when your words don’t mean s—.”
Miami-Dade Police director Stephanie V. Daniels said in a statement on Sunday afternoon that she has initiated an internal affairs review of the incident and that one of the officers involved has been placed on administrative leave while the investigation is conducted. On Monday, Daniels and the Miami-Dade Police Department released body-cam footage of the incident.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said that an investigation into the conduct of the officers involved in the incident “will answer questions,” while noting that it already has become part of a long national dialogue on the use of force by police.
McDaniel told reporters on Monday that it’s important to let due process play out in the situation.
“I do think that it’s supremely important to wait for information to be gathered before any rush to judgment,” McDaniel said. “Regardless, I know the feelings expressed to me are unsettling. But, two things did come from the adversity. Super proud of teammates being teammates, and super proud of our guys understanding the civic responsibility for the platform and intending to do right by it.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
