Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill gets penalty for using phone

Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill gets penalty for using phone

The winless Carolina Panthers grabbed a 14-point lead on the Miami Dolphins on Sunday. But in the second quarter, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa threw three touchdown passes to put Miami on top 21-14 at halftime.

The tiebreaking touchdown came on a 41-yard connection with wide receiver Tyreek Hill with 1:54 left in the second quarter.

Hill entered the game tied for the NFL lead in touchdown receptions, and after his sixth of the 2023 season on Sunday, Hill grabbed a phone from a man behind the end zone at Hard Rock Stadium and finished the video with a backflip.

But the use of the phone drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty against the former West Alabama standout.

On Saturday, the NFL announced Hill had been fined $10,927 for a taunting penalty after a 69-yard touchdown reception in a 31-16 victory over the New York Giants on Oct. 8.

Hill revealed last week that he had repeatedly been fined by the NFL for uniform violations, specifically not wearing socks or the right kind of socks. Going forward, though, Hill said he was going to do what was needed “to keep my hard-earned money in my pocket.”

“I get IVs before games, and sometimes the timing just doesn’t allow me to put on socks in time, and I don’t want to miss plays,” Hill said. “Sometimes I have on socks, and it doesn’t cover a certain length. The NFL has certain rules that have been here way before I’ve been playing this game, and they are going to be here well after, so it’s my job to comply. …

“I feel like my job as an employee of the NFL is to comply, so that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to comply. I’m going to give in. Usually, I bite the bullet and try to fight back. But once they start digging in your pocket a little bit, there’s really not much you can do. Plus in some kind of way, it gives me an advantage. That’s what they said with me not having on socks. They said it gives me an advantage. I was like, ‘So y’all are going to drug test me for not wearing socks?’ At this point, I’m not going to say nothing, I’m just going to comply.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.