Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill calls out Olympic gold medallist Noah Lyles

NEW YORK – Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill has taken aim at 100m Olympic gold medallist Noah Lyles.

The speedy Hill apparently was not impressed with Lyles’ win and took exception when Lyles claimed the National Football League (NFL) Super Bowl champions were not “world champions”.

“I would beat Noah Lyles (in a race),” Hill said during an interview on the Up & Adams Show. “I wouldn’t beat him by a lot, but I would beat Noah Lyles.”

He also took a dig at Lyles’ revelation that he was suffering from Covid-19 when he ran the Olympic 200m final. The American finished third, behind winner Letsile Tebogo of Botswana and Kenny Bednarek of the United States.

“Noah Lyles can’t say nothing, after what just happened to him. He wants to come out and pretend that he’s sick. I feel that’s like horseradish,” said Hill, who is considered to be the fastest man in the NFL.

“For him to do that and say that, that we’re not world champions of our sport? Come on brother, speak on what you know about, and that’s track... When I beat him, I’ll put on a Covid mask, because I mean business.”

Lyles later said during an NBC Sports interview he did not know who Hill was.

Hill then took to social media on Aug 18 and encouraged Lyles to sign a contract to compete against him in a 50-yard (46m) dash.

“Sign the contract and lock in that 50-yard race...” Hill said on X.

Hill’s challenge came on the heels of Lyles calling out the Dolphins wideout on Nightcap with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson.

“Tyreek is just chasing clout. Any time someone fast comes up, he would try to race them. If he really wanted to race people, he would’ve showed up like DK Metcalf. And the man raced in the 60 metres this year in the Masters division. The man dodges smoke. I don’t got time for that,” Lyles said.

“He’s challenging me, we’re racing in the 100, we can race. If he’s truly serious about it. If he’s truly serious about it, and I’m not talking about you’re just talking on the internet... you’ll see me on the track.”

Hill, 30, posted a career-high, NFL-leading and franchise-record 1,799 receiving yards in 2023. He became the first player in league history to record 1,700-plus receiving yards in multiple seasons.

An eight-time Pro Bowl selection, Hill has 717 catches for 10,139 yards with 76 touchdowns in 124 career games with the Kansas City Chiefs (2016-21) and the Dolphins.

Lyles, 27, won the men’s 100m final in a classic at the Paris Olympics on Aug 4.

The three-time 200m world champion failed even to qualify for the shorter sprint at the US Olympic trials in 2021, and rebuilt himself with the singular goal of becoming the fastest man on earth.

Lyles also sparked animosity between himself and some National Basketball Association (NBA) players with comments he made in 2023.

He said during the world championships in Budapest: “You know the thing that hurts me the most is that I have to watch the NBA Finals and they have ‘world champion’ on their head. World champion of what? The United States? Don’t get me wrong, I love the US – at times – but that ain’t the world.

“We are the world. We have almost every country out here fighting, thriving, putting on their flag to show they are represented. There ain’t no flags in the NBA.”

That did not sit well with some NBA players.

“Somebody help this brother,” Kevin Durant wrote on Instagram in response, while more recently, Josh Hart admitted: “I really wanted him to lose (the Olympic 100m final). Dang I wanted him to lose.

“I think this was the first time all of NBA Twitter banded together and was just hating. I was just hating and I was like damn, respect, I can’t even hate any more.” 

NBA legend Carmelo Anthony added on his 7PM In Brooklyn podcast last week: “The reason why we call ourselves world champs over here, to what I said earlier, this is our game.

“The world comes to us, to get the game. So, yes, we are the world champs. Semantics, I understand... But my thing is, why do you keep shooting at the NBA? If you want to shoot, shoot at the fact that y’all ain’t got no league of your own. Shoot at why they ain’t pour money into that sport.” REUTERS