NFL All-Pro receiver Tyreek Hill's wife recounted details of assault and verbal abuse during testimony Tuesday on the first day of a civil assault and battery trial in Florida. Some assaults occurred while she was pregnant with their daughter, Lakeeta Vaccaro testified.
Her testimony, as part of the couple's divorce proceedings, came a day after Hill's agent told ESPN's Adam Schefter that his client would potentially be signing a contract with a new team soon. NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy told ESPN on Tuesday that Vaccaro's allegations against Hill remain "under review of the personal conduct policy."
Vaccaro's allegations followed a previous case in 2014 in which another woman accused Hill of domestic violence. Hill pleaded guilty and completed three years of court-ordered probation.
Vaccaro, the sister of former NFL receiver Kenny Vaccaro, broke into tears on two occasions during more than three hours of testimony and cross-examination. Trial coverage by Law&Crime Trials appeared online via YouTube.
The abuse started on Jan. 10, 2024, Lakeeta Vaccaro said, when she and Hill began arguing over a postnuptial agreement he pressured her to sign. She did not sign it, saying she didn't agree with certain stipulations.
Vaccaro said that "probably the worst of all these times" was a July 12, 2024, visit to Bristol, Connecticut, and ESPN headquarters. She alleged Hill attacked her while she was pregnant, attempting to punch her in the stomach following an argument. Becoming emotional for one of the only times during her testimony, Vaccaro testified she deflected the punch with her hands. "If I didn't block it," Vaccaro said, "it would just hit me."
She also alleged Hill pulled her hair, broke her sunglasses and cursed at her at a Bristol hotel.
Video taken by ESPN of the visit shows Vaccaro standing off to the side when Hill was being interviewed and smiling only briefly while standing next to him posing for a group photo. They did not appear to touch during the photo and appeared to walk in opposite directions after it.
The Jan. 10 argument about the postnuptial agreement angered Hill, Vaccaro testified, and he threatened divorce, tried to take her wedding ring from her finger, grabbed a necklace off Vaccaro's neck, put his hands around her neck, grabbed and twisted her breasts and wrestled her to the bed. She took a photo of markings on her chest and said the incident "terrified" her. Vaccaro texted her mother the next day, describing aspects of the fight. The texts were among multiple exhibits entered into evidence to help corroborate her account.