As a national podcast based in Miami, an interview with Tyreek Hill undoubtedly would have been a big get for The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz.
But when offered the opportunity to interview the Miami Dolphins star wide receiver, Le Batard ultimately turned it down, due to restrictions that would have been placed on the questions he could ask.
“I would have liked to have talked to Tyreek Hill over the stance of if he comes on here, the people who manage Tyreek Hill’s career, he will get a question about this,” Le Batard said during his show on Tuesday. “And the interview evaporates, because what does he need to do that for if he can just be on his own podcast saying whatever he wants without anyone asking him about that?”
Le Batard’s comments come in reference to Hill’s well-documented history of domestic violence, which include a 2014 arrest and eventual conviction for domestic assault and strangulation following allegations that he assaulted his pregnant girlfriend. In 2019, he was investigated for alleged battery after an incident in which his then-three-year-old son suffered a broken arm, although charges were never filed.
Le Batard has previously noted that he was in talks for a “home and home” in which Hill would appear on his show and he would appear on the 4-time All-Pro’s podcast, It Needed To Be Said. Despite valuing his journalistic integrity, the Meadowlark Media co-founder was clearly torn on whether he made the right decision in not accepting an interview with Hill on the condition he couldn’t ask about his off-field history.
“We don’t do conditions around here,” Le Batard said. “But I’m genuinely asking the audience, ‘what is the right play?’ Because I don’t think doing that buys me anything. I don’t think anyone cares about it other than me talking about it now and ‘there goes he goes grandstanding’ or ‘there he goes, another one of his moral causes when he’s willing to celebrate Tyreek Hill every time he runs 80 yards.'”
“The right play for you is exactly how you handled it,” Le Batard’s co-host, Jon “Stugotz” Weiner, replied. “Everyone’s different, Dan.”
“I don’t think anyone cares,” Le Batard rebutted.
“But you care and it’s your show and your voice,” Weiner replied. “So you made the decision that I think everyone who knows you knows you would make.”
“And what you gain, is what you already have, which is integrity, Miami Herald columnist and part-time co-host Greg Cote added. “And some people in the audience probably do appreciate that you wouldn’t have Tyreek Hill on with the condition that you not ask him about the controversy in his past.”
Le Batard’s comments on Tuesday came amid a conversation in which he admitted he was unsure how to discuss Hill and Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson as football players considering their respective off-field histories. But they also relate to a larger conversation about the control athletes have when it comes to the content that they’re a part of, whether it’s podcast interviews or documentaries on streaming services.
While an interview with Hill — even with conditions — likely would have resulted in a short-term gain for Le Batard’s show, to Cote’s point, his audience likely would have been disappointed with what would essentially amounted to a “puff piece” had he not been allowed to ask about the wideout’s off-field history. If nothing else, at least both Le Batard and Hill (or his camp) made their stances clear, sparing us from an awkward interview like the one Dan Patrick had with Matt Harvey a decade ago.
[The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz]
