On Tuesday, word emerged that Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill has been accused of hitting a marina employee in the head.
On Wednesday, PFT asked the league for comment on the situation, given the realities of the Personal Conduct Policy. The league has declined comment.
That’s not entirely a surprise; sometimes, when a player is accused of something, the response is “no comment.” Sometimes, the league says, “The matter is under review.”
It’s hard to imagine the NFL completely ignoring it. Even if the person who allegedly was struck doesn’t want to press charges (and he reportedly does not), the NFL could conduct a basic investigation. It could attempt, for example, to examine footage from any surveillance cameras that might have captured the incident.
And here’s the other wrinkle, about which Hill and the Dolphins should be concerned. Under the Personal Conduct Policy, past incidents become potentially aggravating factors when attaching a punishment. And Hill, in 2015, pleaded guilty to charges arising from allegations that he choked and punched his pregnant girlfriend.
By rule, the NFL could never punish him for that incident. But the NFL has engineered the Personal Conduct Policy to allow those incidents to enhance the punishment for things that happen once the player falls within the NFL’s jurisdiction.
