It appears that Tyreek Hill could soon be at the center of an NFL investigation regarding whether or not his injury was properly reported in accordance with league policy.
Ahead of Monday night’s game against the Los Angeles Rams, Hill was listed as questionable with a wrist injury, after being limited in practice on Friday and Saturday. This was the first time this season that he appeared on the injury report for the injury.
However, there was one problem with Hill only showing up on the injury report this week: Hill himself admitted that he has been dealing with the same issue for the entire season.
Before the game, ESPN’s Lisa Salters reported that Hill told her he had been battling the injury since Week 1.
“He said that it’s something that he’s really been dealing with all season long. He said it first started in training camp, but then he said it got re-aggravated when he was arrested right before the opening game of the season. He said he was taken to the ground by police — we remember seeing that video — and he said that’s where the further damage was done. Tyreek told me that he’s had an MRI, and he said that the MRI has shown that he has a torn ligament. That he said he is playing through it,” Salters said.
“He said he’s just been quiet about it all season long,” she said. “So I said to him, ‘Do you not want me to say anything about it? Because you just told me all about it.’ He said, ‘It’s fine. It’s something that I have to deal with.’”
Hill confirmed this report after the game, admitting that he has been dealing with the injury all season. He explained that the injury began “against the Commanders Week 1” and that he “kind of like reaggravated it trying to block my tail off during the course of the year.”
This obviously raises concerns that the league’s injury reporting rules, which require teams to report injuries as soon as they occur, may have been violated.
These rules have been in place for decades, but their importance has grown significantly in the age of legal sports gambling, with millions of people now placing bets based on player health and availability.
As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk points out, this situation could lead to an NFL investigation.
“The NFL launched the injury report in 1947 as a way to combat illegal gambling. Now that gambling is legal, there’s an even greater obligation to insist on transparency when it comes to the health of the players,” Florio wrote.
“Maybe Hill hid the injury from the Dolphins. Some players will do that, getting treatment and care on their own. If that’s what happened, let’s find out. The league should investigate — and the league should share the results.”
Needless to say, this news led to. lot of reactions on social media.
“He has no common sense, no respect for rules or authority (including the NFL),” one fan wrote in the comments on NewsBreak.
“I love how Hill toys with EVERYONE,” another fan wrote.
“What’s the big deal, every player throughout the league is dealing with some sort of injury. Is every team reporting those players?” another person wrote.
“Mane, once you have a big encounter, the next thing you know they coming after you with teeth and nails. Investigation,” another person added.
“This is a big nothing Burger. Bigger fish to fry,” someone else said.
“He is just making an excuse for his sorry season and also wants to make money from suing the state it’s crazy,” another fan speculated.
We’ll have to see whether or not the league does indeed investigate this case.
