If Tyreek Hill Was Not Black, He Probably Wouldn’t Have Been Arrested and Humiliated Like That but, Then Again, He Probably Wouldn’t Be as Fast as He is, So Isn’t it All Just a Wash in the End?

What happened to Tyreek Hill on Sunday is terrible and probably only happened because he is black. At the same time, however, that 80 yard touchdown reception probably could not have happened if he was not black. So, it all sort of all balances out is what I’m trying to say.

First and foremost, I want to start off this article by saying this: no one—and I mean no one—is more committed to ending racism and promoting racial equality and opportunity than The Sports Gutter. In fact, we explicitly state as much in our Mission Statement, so it’s not like this is something we take lightly. To the contrary, we take matters of race and racial equality and racial justice and pretty much everything involving race very seriously. After all, like I said, it is in our Mission Statement which was vetted by a number of our staff members and legal team and was carefully worded so that people understood where we stand on race: we take it very seriously.

With that being said, I want to address the terrible events of Sunday morning in Miami, while at the same time, highlighting the incredible 80 yard touchdown reception that Tyreek Hill had. Both of which probably would not have happened if Tyreek Hill was white or some other ethnicity.

Let’s start with the bad incident first.

It appears that Tyreek Hill was pulled over for speeding, which is not okay and is dangerous. But, here’s what’s even more not okay about what happened: he was pulled out of his car by police officers and handcuffed. Here’s the part about this that makes it the most not okay: the police officers only did this because he is black. That is wrong and something that we do not tolerate or condone at The Sports Gutter, and we—unlike other s0-called “sports journalism websites” (e.g. The Ringer, ESPN.com)—actually have a Mission Statement where we expressly address racial relations in America.

Now, let’s talk about the good incident.

Tyreek Hill used his tremendous speed to catch a pass and then run past defenders to score an 80 yard touchdown! It was fucking sick. He is so fast.

Here’s the interesting thing though: both of these events only happened because Tyreek Hill is black. So, it all works out. Sometimes it’s not great to be black and sometimes it is. Interesting, right?

For example, you don’t ever see Cooper Kupp getting dragged out of his car on the way to the stadium, and then, a few hours later, torch a bunch of defenders with an electric 80 yard touchdown reception, do you? No. Why? He’s white.

Here’s the really interesting thing though: If you asked Cooper Kupp if he would put up with the public humiliation of being assaulted in broad daylight by police officers just because he was black, BUT…..then he would have the speed to be able to take a quick slant to the house for six at any time, he would probably really have to think about it. And that’s the point—being black can be bad, but it also can be good too. So it all kind of evens out in the end.