Noah Lyles Shades Tyreek Hill After Dolphins Star Challenges Him to Race

Kristen Wong | Aug 16, 2024

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL has its fair share of petty kings, but the league hasn’t yet gone head-to-head with U.S. sprinter Noah Lyles.

Lyles, coming off a gold and bronze medal finish in the 2024 Paris Games, has been feeling on top of the world despite a COVID-19 diagnosis that hindered his final race. Days after Miami Dolphins star wideout Tyreek Hill said he could beat Lyles in a race, the three-time Olympic medalist responded in petty fashion. 

“What’s that guy’s…What’s the cheetah guy from football?” Lyles said in a recent interview. “I can’t remember his name. Mark! What’s the football player who thinks he’s fast name?”

“Tyreek Hill,” Lyles finally said, after an extended period of time.

Noah Lyles says he doesn’t know who Tyreek Hill is pic.twitter.com/AVU6Mymw1X https://t.co/sJ4VuvzX5a

— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) August 16, 2024

While it’s wholly possible Lyles didn’t know the Dolphins star’s name off the top of his head, it’s equally possible he was purposefully forgetting it to fuel the flames of his newly erupted feud with Hill.

Lyles already has a simmering feud with the NBA after he called out teams for declaring themselves “world champions” following an NBA title win.

“You know the thing that hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have ‘world champion’ on they head,” Lyles said last September. “World champion of what? The United States?”

The reigning Olympic 100-meter champion could have more to say depending on how Hill and the Dolphins fare in the AFC East this upcoming season. For now, sports fans could surely use a break from a meaningless rivalry between athletes who compete in starkly different competitions.