Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill to pay photographer’s salary after NFL suspends credential
In a heartwarming display of friendship and loyalty, Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill has announced that he will cover the salary of the photographer who had his sideline credential suspended by the NFL.
The photographer, Kevin Fitzgibbons, was contracted by the NFL to shoot Dolphins home games and was involved in Hill’s touchdown celebration in Week 6 against the Panthers. During the celebration, Hill grabbed Fitzgibbons’ cell phone and filmed himself doing a back flip, resulting in a penalty for celebrating with a prop. However, Hill was not fined for the incident.
Unfortunately, Fitzgibbons announced on social media that he lost his credential for the remainder of the season and possibly for good. Hill, who absolved Fitzgibbons of blame in his postgame interview in Week 6, revealed that he and Fitzgibbons are longtime friends.
“Me and K-Fitz, we’ve got a long history together,” Hill said, according to Marcel Louis-Jacques of ESPN. “The news is something that I already knew. I told him, ‘Don’t let this get to you. Just hold your head up. You’re still young. Continue to do what you love.’ Me and him are going to continue to work together.”
Hill further expressed his commitment to his friend, saying, “I told him I was going to cover his salary, whatever the NFL was going to pay him or whatever. I told him I was going to make sure that I do what’s right and take care of you, make sure you’re not out of a job. That’s my guy.”
The incident, which was caught on video, quickly went viral, amassing over 4.5 million views on TikTok and 100,000 likes on Instagram. Hill’s gesture has been widely praised as a display of true friendship and support.