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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Guardian sport

Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill sued for allegedly breaking plus-size model’s leg

Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins poses on the red carpet at the NFL Honors award show ahead of the Super Bowl earlier this month.
Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins poses on the red carpet at the NFL Honors award show ahead of the Super Bowl earlier this month. Photograph: Charlie Riedel/AP

Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill has been sued by a plus-sized influencer with more than 2m followers who claims her leg was broken at the football star’s Florida mansion last year during a backyard football lesson gone wrong.

Sophie Hall, an influencer, model and actor who lives in Pasco County, claimed she was invited to take part in an offensive line blocking drill after watching Hill train in his backyard, according to a complaint filed in Broward County. The Daily Mail was first to report of the lawsuit on Tuesday, four days after it was filed according to online court records.

Hall claimed she was asked to visit Hill’s home after registering her son to the Dolphins player’s football camp last June, saying he began sending direct messages to her on Instagram and commenting about her height “in a flirtatious and playful manner”, according to the lawsuit.

After watching Hill undergo a training session on his turf field, Hall was invited to take part in an offensive line blocking drill, the suit claims. On the first rep Hall, who is 6ft 1in, alleges she managed to push the 5ft 10in Hill backward, drawing laughter from a group of witnesses that included Hill’s trainer, mother and sister, the complaint states.

On a subsquent rep, Hill set up the same drill but with the roles inverted and the All-Pro receiver “charged into her violently and with great force, resulting in significant and serious injuries”, the lawsuit alleges. Hall suffered a fractured right leg, which required surgery and metal hardware implantation, according to the complaint.

“Unfortunately, after getting ‘humiliated’ in front of friends and family when he was knocked backwards during a friendly football lesson by his friend Sophie Hall, Tyreek became enraged, and forcefully and purposefully shoved Ms. Hall, severely fracturing her leg, requiring surgery with orthopedic reconstruction and hardware implantation,” the lawsuit states.

The complaint also makes reference to Hill’s “violent and aggressive behavior towards women”. The wideout was dismissed from Oklahoma State in 2014 over a domestic-violence arrest, which later saw him plead guilty to punching and choking his then-pregnant 20-year-old girlfriend.

Hill, 29, is coming off a highly productive season for Miami which saw him record career-high 1,799 receiving yards on 119 catches with 13 touchdowns.

• This article was amended on 29 February 2024 to add the detail that the Daily Mail first reported on the lawsuit.

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