McDaniel laments what Hill, Campbell endured: “Hard for me not to find myself more upset”

An emotional Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel expressed empathy on Monday for how Tyreek Hill and Calais Campbell were treated in being handcuffed by police on Sunday.

“This is too much under the spotlight to get swept under the rug,” McDaniel said.

In the hours before the Dolphins’ 20-17 win against Jacksonville on Sunday, Hill was handcuffed after being called over for a routine traffic violation outside Hard Rock Stadium. He was given less than one second to follow officer’s orders, and then was cursed by officers, according to cell phone footage shot by passing drivers.

Campbell said he was handcuffed for not moving his car quickly enough and standing inside of 25 feet of Hill in an attempt to de-escalate the situation.

“It’s hard for me not to find myself more upset the more I think about it,” McDaniel said Monday after a day to process what happened. “Try to put myself in that situation. The thing that [expletives] me up is knowing I don’t know what that feels like. It’s very important that two things should be true. You let due process work and let information be gathered to appropriately project an opinion. But I can’t get away from the fact of what I know their experience to be.

“If you are Calais Campbell and going to work, whatever personal innocence you have, you are a gigantic, strong, miraculous man that has done right in all ways, shapes and forms. There are elements to that that are very triggering. I think it’s supremely important to wait for information to be gathered before any rush to judgment. The feelings expressed to me are unsettling.”

McDaniel was proud that Jonnu Smith, Campbell and Odell Beckham Jr. stopped to support Hill during the incident.

“Super proud of teammates being teammates. Super proud of our guys understanding the civic responsibility of a platform and intending to do right by it,” McDaniel said. “I was happy a guy like that didn’t feel alone.”

Asked a question about race in these types of police incidents and how his views about that have evolved over time, McDaniel said: “When you know you can’t truly understand, the unknown is what crushes me. I can only forecast. My forecast: What if it’s worse?... Simply because of my appearance, I don’t have a history of feeling profiled. For me in particular, I feel pretty helpless at times.”

The NFL identifies McDaniel as a minority. Asked about that earlier in his Dolphins tenure, he said: “I think people identify me as something, but I identify as a human being and my dad is Black.”

McDaniel said he was “very impressed by” Hill, who caught seven passes for 130 yards, and “his teammates. The teammates minimized whatever is going on.. as much as possible.

Asked what he can tell Hill and Campbell, McDaniel said: “I think it’s better to listen more than anything. Life is super humbling. It’s important to recognize when your words don’t mean [expletive]. What am I going to say?”

How did the team manage to focus before the game?

“There were some key players who were leaders of this team that did a great job communicating to other players when they were getting close to arriving to the locker room and they were met by teammates,” McDaniel said. “The second they got in the locker room, [they had] numerous people come physically to them to greet them and support them; that’s how it was handled. You want to make sure they don’t feel alone.”

Asked about police not immediately releasing the body-cam video, McDaniel said: “You let the process take its time. [People] should have facts before they have an opinion. I don’t pretend to know all the things involved in that process. For me to even have an opinion for having expectations [for the video] to be released today, that would be short-sighted on my part. I don’t know what goes on with that.... It’s not fair to anyone to rush to judgment.”

How hard will it be to get focused for the game?

“We are able to immerse ourselves into something that is a tangible goal that you have some control over,” McDaniel said. “At times, it will be therapeutic for NFL game week and a Thursday opponent. That can be our greatest gift -- our gift of extreme distraction. Our guys are highly motivated, especially when the world creeps in on you and rattles you a little bit.”

NEWS NOTE

McDaniel said “it was positive experience” Sunday for Jaelan Phillips coming off his November torn Achilles’ and Jalen Ramsey coming off an August hamstring injury.

“Playing over 50 % of snaps - the only way that happens is you’re testing waters and feel very good about what’s occurring,” McDaniel said.

Ramsey played 41 snaps and Phillips played 34 of Miami’s 53 defensive snaps.

Also Monday, Bills coach Sean McDermott said that quarterback Josh Allen had his left hand examined and has been cleared to practice and play against the Dolphins. Allen is 10-2 all time against Miami. But cornerback Taron Johnson is out for Thursday’s game with a forearm injury.