The Indianapolis Colts have bizarrely apologized for a seconds-long video that portrays Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill as a cartoon dolphin.
The Colts participated in a social media trend in which NFL teams created unique videos to launch the release of their upcoming schedule. For their video, the Colts decided to use the stylings of the ultra-popular video game Minecraft and animated it accordingly. For their Week 1 matchup against the Dolphins, the Colts included a short video that mocked a 2024 incident involving Hill.
‘We sincerely apologize to Microsoft and Tyreek.’
The animation lasted just six seconds but featured a pixelated dolphin in the ocean with “Hill” captioned above it, wearing the wide receiver’s No. 10 jersey. A Coast Guard boat then approaches the dolphin/”Hill” as an officer rings a siren.
The short video was meant to mock Hill’s 2024 police encounter during which Miami-Dade Police handcuffed and placed Hill on the ground during a traffic stop before a home game. Traffic citations against Hill were later dropped.
According to ESPN, not only did the Colts retroactively find its Hill segment to be mean, but also the team said it may have violated Microsoft’s intellectual property at the same time. Minecraft is owned by Microsoft, and the near-identical animations may have been enough to get a warning from the software giant, but that much is unclear.
“We removed our schedule release video because it exceeded our rights with Microsoft and included an insensitive clip involving Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill. We sincerely apologize to Microsoft and Tyreek,” the team said in a statement.
Interestingly, the Los Angeles Chargers made a similar video for their schedule release but indicated through a disclaimer that they had Microsoft’s permission to use their animation style.
Hill’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, relayed to outlets that Hill actually thought the Colts’ video was funny and did not support its removal.
“He laughed about it and didn’t think they needed to take it down on his account,” Rosenhaus said.
‘The Colts bailed on their gag like cowards.’
Sports reporter Alejandro Avila certainly was not one of the allegedly offended parties, and he told Blaze News that if a team is going to attempt a joke like that, it should “go for broke.”
“Tyreek has landed himself in enough trouble over his bad decisions that we can all point and laugh,” Avila added. “The Colts bailed on their gag like cowards. Don’t take down a heavily produced video and apologize for it. Don’t apologize! If the joke doesn’t land, own it.”
Pouring a little more salt on the wound, Rosenhaus told the Associated Press, “Tyreek accepts the Colts’ apology.”
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