ESPN Personalities Let Tyreek Hill Know Exactly What They Think
![Jan 5, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) on the field before the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium. Jan 5, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill (10) on the field before the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_5286,h_2973,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/all_dolphins/01jjqdxp75q6jy4wdqp5.jpg)
Stephen A. Smith never has been one to hold his tongue.
He opened up about Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill's post-game tirade after the season finale at the New York Jets. He also addressed Hill's attempt to walk back his statement days later.
"I just got to do what's best for me and my family if that's here are wherever the case may be, man, I am going to open that door for myself now," Hill said in the postgame locker room on Jan. 5. "I'm out. It was great playing here. But, you know, at the end of the day, I got to do what's best for my career."
Hill has later backed off of the statement and tried to make nice.
"What you all heard at the end of the season was frustration," Hill said during a live Twitch stream over the weekend. "I've been winning my whole life. Y'all don't understand. I bust my behind everyday. I deserve to feel like that. I deserve to have some kind of opinion.
"You all just want me to say, oh well, get him next year now. Bump that. We got to come back. We got to put some pressure on. Y'all got to fix this. Come on, add some (bleeping) dogs in this. I compete and I love to compete."
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WHAT THE ESPN ANALYSTS HAD TO SAY
Smith isn't buying it the rhetoric.
"You can't be talking like that. Actin' like you get to absolve yourself and your decision-making from this situation," Smith said on First Take this week. "You did it to yourself. You did it to yourself."
Smith took a shot at Hill and said he needs to be happy the Dolphins gave him the contract they did. Smith said Hill has to realize he is not in Kansas City anymore, pointing out the Chiefs have won two Super Bowls without him and are on the precipice of a third.
"Life's a little bit different when you ain't with Patrick Mahomes," Smith said. "We tried to tell you. We don't want to hear about no family now. You got your bag. That ain't family, bro. Family's the bag. Once you get the bag, family's taken care of. This is about you recognizing that life is a little bit different when Patrick Mahomes ain't throwing you the football."
Co-host Shannon Sharpe was even stronger than Smith and went directly at Hill, who was not on the show to defend himself.
"I don't want to hear what Tyreek Hill got to say," Sharpe said. "Tyreek HIll quit in the fourth quarter on his team. I dont want to hear nothing about no frustration. I don't want to hear nothing about no dog, because you weren't no dog in the fourth quarter. Jaylen Waddle asked you, 'Reek you done?'
"You quit. Was that about your family. Was that about being a dog? I don't want to hear a damn thing Tyreek Hill is saying because Tyreek Hill quit on his team. .No different than what (DeVondre) Campbell did to the 49ers. The only difference was Kyle Shanahan came out and said what he had done. Tyreek Hill quit and now what he is trying to say is he was frustrated. ..... You quit, as simple as that. I don't want to hear nothing about no frustration about being no dog, you quit."
Former NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky, also chimed in with his own thoughts on the matter.
"No. 1 don't complain about the life that you chose. No. 2, when you complain you make yourself the victim," Orlovsky said. "You are not the victim here, Tyreek. You had the opportunity to stay in Kansas City. Rightfully so, you chose the way you wanted to go.
"Everyone has professional choices. With that professional choice, there are pros and cons. This is one of the cons of that professional choice that Tyreek Hill made. This is what comes with that. I don't necessarily mind the trying to apply the pressure and force Miami to improve. You chose this."