Dispute over boat in marina led to an altercation involving Dolphins star Tyreek Hill
Tyreek Hill spent a day over the long weekend 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.
That was one version of the altercation. But like with many fish tales, the details were murky.
A police report released late Wednesday made no mention of fishing for tarpon and said the argument began when a marina employee saw two women aboard a boat without permission. The report does not name Hill but says when the employee approached the group, a man though to be the Dolphins star began arguing with him, slapping him in the neck area with an open hand before being restrained by a few people.
The report, which also does not name the victim, says the incident was recorded early Sunday evening via surveillance cameras and that the man who was struck had no visible injuries. The report also says the manager of the Kelley Fishing Fleet located at the marina interacted with the group before the altercation about renting a boat, but they passed because it was too expensive.
Two days later, Hill and the Dolphins weren’t talking about what may have happened. His agent Drew Rosenhaus wouldn’t comment. 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, possibly after 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 reported the incident 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.
According to people who work at the park and law enforcement sources, an unidentified boat captain, Hill and others left Bill Bird Marina at Haulover Marina 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 shown the water with goggles on, grabbing the tail of a 6-foot shark, which appears clearly exhausted after being caught. Nothing in the video that was posted to Rosenhaus’s Twitter page Monday indicates what boat Hill and Rosenhaus were aboard when the agent tussled with the shark.
“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 allegedly occurred when when vessel returned to the marina, docking in one of the slots run by the Kelley Fishing Fleet, dock workers said.
According to people who work on the dock, 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.
Dock workers 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 or the neck area. After that, Hill and his group ran off, the report said.
This story was originally published June 21, 2023 at 4:14 PM.
