Michael Bennett pens letter detailing being profiled by Las Vegas police
Some people–*cough* Jason Whitlock *cough*–believe that racism ends after reaching a certain level of success. [Because LeBron James finding racial slurs spray-painted on one of his homes clearly isn’t racist.] The evidence that this isn’t true continues to pour in.
Michael Bennett has been extremely vocal in recent years in regards to social justice and combating racism. He was one of Colin Kaepernick’s first supporters and is continuing his protest of the National Anthem to this day. As one of the key players in the Seattle Seahawks’ stellar defense, Bennett has made quite a name for himself. But that didn’t stop Las Vegas police from using excessive force and pointing loaded weapons at his head while he did nothing to provoke it.
On Wednesday morning, Bennett posted a letter detailing his recent experience of being profiled by Las Vegas police officers after an alleged shooting after the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight. According to Bennett, he was singled out of a crowd for no particular reason, forced onto the ground and placed in the back of a police car.
Equality. pic.twitter.com/NQ4pJt94AZ
— Michael Bennett (@mosesbread72) September 6, 2017
“As I laid on the ground, complying with [the officer’s] commands not to move, he place his gun near my head and warned me that if I moved he would ‘blow my fucking head off’,” Bennett wrote.
He says another officer then “jammed his knee into my back making it difficult for me to breathe.” Bennett was eventually placed in the back of a police car for “what felt like an eternity” before confirming his identity and letting him go.
In the end of the letter, Bennett references how he felt as if the system failed him and only wondered how those who were killed by officers felt in similar situations. He’s taken on a civil rights attorney to look into the legal actions he can take following the incident.
Bennett’s work as a social activist was recently highlighted in a profile in The Undefeated.
Michael’s brother, Martellus, was one of the first players for the New England Patriots who elected to skip the team’s visit to the White House due to Donald Trump’s problematic policies.