Tyreek Hill‘s pregame routine took a dramatic detour this Sunday, leaving the NFL world buzzing. The Miami Dolphins’ star receiver found himself face-down on the pavement, just blocks from Hard Rock Stadium, with the clock ticking towards kickoff. The South Florida Police Benevolent Association was quick to make its version of the situation known earlier.

They said in a statement Monday that Hill “was not immediately cooperative with the officers on scene.” That is quite different from the postgame picture Hill painted. Body cam footage of the Miami-Dade Police Department shows a tense situation going awry. One officer is heard barking at Hill, “When we tell you to do something, you do it. Do you understand?”

The video shows Hill being forcefully removed from his car and held facedown with a knee in the middle of his back by an officer. Hill, who had undergone knee surgery recently, told the officers about it, but still, there he was getting processed and sitting on the curb in handcuffs, no doubt somewhere far away mentally between game day and real life.

“It’s hard,” Hill somberly reflected on a “frustrating” day after the game. “I don’t want to bring race into it, but sometimes it gets kind of iffy when you do. What if I wasn’t Tyreek Hill? Lord knows what those guys would have done.” The words reflected one of the biggest fears many folks have when it comes to interactions with police.

Tyreek Hill pleaded to the police amidst traumatic scene

The vulnerability of Hill paralyzed in the situation — was captured on-site. Per MLFootball (tweet with body cam footage) “Right after being placed in handcuffs, Tyreek Hill was begging his teammate Jonnu Smith to stay near him by the scene, to make sure they would not do anything to hurt Hill.”

The landmark plea from one of the NFL’s most electric players gives a chilling portrait of just what terror and confusion Hill grappled with in those moments. It is a haunting image, that of an MVP-level player pleading that his teammate stay by his side is a heavy reminder of the gravity of the situation.

It was an incident that had a profound effect on the player and his team. Monday was a moving day for Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel and his voice was choked with emotion. “It’s been hard to not find myself more upset the more I think about it,” he stated. “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.”

Nonetheless, Hill channeled his energy into a great game. He set flames to the Jaguars‘ defense, catching the ball for 130 yards and one touchdown — including an exhilarating 80-yard catch-and-run. It was a testimony to his mental strength, converting what could have been trauma into a pliable on-field victory.

And now, after the dust has settled, a few questions remain. A cop has been put on administrative leave, and Hill’s attorney says he’ll ‘explore all legal remedies’. The whole episode is a sobering reminder that — the million-dollar contracts to play football aside — these guys don’t always compete on an equal playing field.