MIAMI (Court TV) — NFL star Tyreek Hill returned to the witness stand on Friday and apologized for the way he had spoken to his estranged wife, but maintained he never hurt her.
Tyreek Hill testifies on Oct. 9, 2026. (Court TV)
“I already admitted to verbally abusing my wife, and I’m sorry for that. I’m sorry; like every day, I’m sorry for that. I don’t know what you want me to continue to say,” Hill said, growing frustrated during cross-examination.
Hill, a free agent who formerly played wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs, was in court for a case stemming from his divorce from Lakeeta Vaccaro. The two married in 2023 and were together for 18 months before filing for divorce. As part of the divorce, Vaccaro filed an amended lawsuit alleging that she was the victim of domestic violence. No criminal charges have been filed.
Vaccaro testified early in the week, telling the jury that Hill assaulted her on multiple occasions, describing physical attacks that included attempts to remove jewelry from her neck and fingers.
Hill testified that, at 195 pounds, he’s “the smallest guy on every football team that I’ve been on and generally just every football field I’ve been on,” but acknowledged that his career requires him to tackle much larger men. “I block guys that are, like, 50 percent bigger than me,” he said. Christi Bright, Hill’s attorney, asked whether, knowing that, it was believable that he could have wrestled a woman of Vaccaro’s size for the 30 minutes she alleged. “It’s not believable at all,” Hill answered. “Because like I said, I would never stand over my wife. I would never harm my wife in any way. That’s not my role.”
Lakeeta Vaccaro testifies on Oct. 7, 2026. (Court TV)
In one alleged incident, Vaccaro’s attorneys accused Hill of throwing his wife through a wall at their home. Hill admitted making the hole but said the door hit the wall as he tried to evade Vaccaro. “She’s like, trying to fondle whatever she’s trying to fondle and I’m trying to get out of there,” he said. “I’m trying to evade. I’m not trying to harm her or push her up against the wall or do anything crazy. I’m just trying to get out of the way, and as I’m trying to, as we are both struggling, I put a hole in the wall with the door.”
Vaccaro’s attorney, Jared Whaley, pressed Hill on what happened.
Whaley: You’re an NFL superstar, right?
Hill: I’m not a superstar. You said that; I didn’t.
Whaley: You don’t think you’re a superstar?
Hill: No sir, I’m not.
Whaley: You have beaten some of the best defensive backs in the NFL.
Hill: That doesn’t mean anything to me, bro. I grew up in south Georgia, baby.
Whaley: You can evade an NFL defensive back, but you can’t evade Lakeeta Vaccaro without putting her through a wall?
Hill: It’s not a moment for that, though. It’s not a moment for that. You gotta warm up for those kinds of things. I’m old. I’m 33 bro. I got back pains.
Under persistent questioning, Hill admitted he hadn’t been a good husband. “I’m going into football terms, but I just think that after watching the film, there were a lot of areas I can improve in.”
Pressed by Vaccaro’s attorney about the language he used when he spoke to his wife in videos shown to the jury from inside their home, Hill said, “I’m not proud of that. I’m ashamed.” He said that he recognized that “the language was terrible. It was terrible. You know, I wish I could have been better in every single moment, you know. But I’m not perfect. The only thing I can do is just learn from it and move forward, you know, and never talk to my co-parent like that ever again, which I won’t.”
Vaccaro and Hill share one child, born on Nov. 25, 2024. Hill has seven other children who live across three states, he said.
