Tyreek Hill spent Father’s Day deep sea fishing with friends and his high-profile agent, a successful outing that included a wild encounter with a large shark.
But back at the Haulover Park Marina dock, a few men apparently took exception when the Miami Dolphins superstar receiver tried to hook some of the big tarpon that hang out under the charter fleet slurping up scraps — a prohibited and not-so-sporting practice. Hill, according to law enforcement sources and dockside scuttlebutt, exchanged words with at least two men who told him fishing was off-limits and one accused Hill of slapping him on the back of the head.
Like with many fish tales, the details remained murky.
Two days later, Hill and the Dolphins weren’t talking. His agent Drew Rosenhaus wouldn’t comment. And Miami-Dade Police were still trying to piece together an incident report Wednesday afternoon. And attaching names to stories from the dock workers, fishing guides and charter operators at the marina was as tough as pulling teeth.
Still, information gathered from various media reports and sources in and out of law enforcement — even from clips posted on social media by Hill’s agent — suggest a minor altercation ending what had been a delightful, almost cloudless day out in the ocean. Police were never called to the dock and the man accusing Hill of slapping him did not report the incident until Monday.
It wasn’t clear what, if any, charges that Hill, who has faced legal troubles before over alleged violent incidents, might face. The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, which ultimately determines if charges are filed, hadn’t received any paperwork from police by late afternoon Wednesday.
“The Miami-Dade Police indicated to the SAO that they will be forwarding the information to our office for further review,” said state attorney spokesman Ed Griffith.
Miami-Dade Police Spokesman Angel Rodriguez said the victim claimed some type of battery during the altercation.
“We are looking into the matter,” he said.
According to people who work at the park and law enforcement sources, an unidentified boat captain, Hill and Rosenhaus left Bill Bird Marina at Haulover Marina some time early Sunday, likely aboard the air-conditioned, 48-foot Lady Mitchell. A day later, Rosenhaus posted a video from a cellphone on his Twitter page.
On the 34-second clip, Rosenhaus is show the water with goggles on, grabbing the tail of a 6-foot shark, which appears clearly exhausted after being caught.
“Don’t grab him. Don’t grab him Drew. We don’t have enough insurance for that,” one man warns, his voice rising. When the man asks Hill if he wants to jump in with Rosenhaus, the receiver replies, “hell, nah.”
Another clip posted on the same Twitter page shows Rosenhaus grabbing the shark from another angle, then flashes quickly to Hill aboard the boat.
“The Florida man. There he is. Look at him go,” a voice on the video is heard saying.
The incident under investigation occurred later in the day when when vessel returned to the marina, docking in one of the slots run by the Kelly Fishing Fleet, sources said.
According to people who work on the dock and police, Hill noticed the large tarpon in the relatively shallow water near the dock, which are attracted by fish scraps from the docked boats. Fishing from the dock is not allowed at the marina but Hill may have been given some conflicting information. Sources said he asked the captain if he could fish and was told it wasn’t permitted from the dock, but that he could jump aboard an adjacent vessel and fish from there.
Sources said one man first told Hill to stop fishing, then another — possibly a member of the family who owns the charter fleet — got close to Hill and also told him to stop. That’s when Hill, according to police, was accused of slapping the man in the back of the head. After that, Hill and his group left.