On Wednesday, May 15th, the NFL unveiled the full schedule for the 2025 season, prompting each team to release a creative video highlighting their upcoming matchups. While many teams used humor to poke fun at their opponents, the Indianapolis Colts’ approach sparked controversy for going too far.
In their now-deleted video, the Colts used Minecraft to portray their Week 1 opponent, the Miami Dolphins. The clip depicted Dolphins star wide receiver Tyreek Hill as a dolphin being stopped and ‘arrested’ by the coast guard — a reference to a real-life incident in 2024 when Hill was pulled over near Hard Rock Stadium for a minor traffic offense. He played that same day, and the charges were eventually dropped.
Although the video was intended to be humorous, it was widely criticized as being in poor taste. The backlash intensified due to the Colts’ failure to obtain proper licensing from Microsoft to use Minecraft in the video.
After removing the video from their social media platforms, the Colts issued a public apology the following day. In a statement shared by James Boyd of The Athletic, the team said:
“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.”
Despite the apology, the video had already circulated widely online, with Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team among those who shared a saved version. The incident has sparked debate about the limits of humor in promotional content and serves as a reminder of the importance of sensitivity and proper licensing in media production.
