Schedule release day has become an anticipated event on the NFL calendar, and for the creative and social media teams across the league, it might as well be the Super Bowl.
But things went sideways for the Colts’ creative team on Wednesday, forcing the team to apologize to Microsoft, star wide receiver Tyreek Hill and the Miami Dolphins.
Indianapolis, like most NFL teams, compiled a video to accompany their regular-season schedule. The Colts’ themed theirs after the popular video game turned film Minecraft.
Which is all well and good. At least until the video promoted the Colts’ opener against Miami by showing an image of a dolphin wearing a No. 10 jersey labeled “Hill” swimming in the ocean before it gets stopped by a Coast Guard boat with a blaring siren.
Hill, an 8-time Pro Bowler known for his explosive speed, was involved in a controversial incident with Miami-Dade deputies before last year’s opener when he was dragged from his vehicle, taken to the ground and handcuffed.
Hill and his agent Drew Rosenhaus later called for the officers involved to be fired. Citations against Hill were eventually dropped.
“We removed our schedule release video because it exceeded our rights with Microsoft and included an insensitive clip involving Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill. We sincerely apologize to Microsoft and Tyreek,” the team said in a statement on Thursday.
Hill, however, didn’t seem to mind.
“Should’ve left it up Colts, this was funny,” he wrote on X.
As for the Microsoft rights violation, it is likely related to the fact that Minecraft is owned by Microsoft and the images in the video too closely resembled those in the game.