Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett is considered one of the NFL‘s good guys. That’s why it was shocking when Bennett released a letter, detailing an incident that took place last month in Las Vegas, following the Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather fight.
“Las Vegas police officers singled me out and pointed their guns at me for doing nothing more than simply being a black man in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said in a statement on Wednesday. He added that one officer had threatened to “blow my fucking head off”.
TMZ later released video of the incident, which showed Bennett protesting his innocence as he lay on the ground. The gunshots later turned out to be a false alarm.
Michael’s brother Martellus, who plays for the Green Bay Packers, said he was in tears after watching the footage. “I didn’t even know there was a video,” Martellus told reporters “I had to walk out of meetings because I broke down crying, just thinking about what could have happened, what could have been. It was just so close. You never know these days.”
Martellus was equally emotional on Wednesday when he spoke with reporters, that session ended with the Seahawks DE in tears.
Michael Bennett addresses Seahawks media, walks off after getting emotional talking about his daughters. pic.twitter.com/sY1V0Ih9ZA
— Jordan Heck (@JordanHeckFF) September 6, 2017
“Sometimes, a hug is the best thing you can give,” Martellus said. “I mean, I don’t really know, really – you know what I’m saying? I don’t really have the answers. You just think, ‘What if?’ You know? Two seconds this way, two seconds that way, the whole thing is different. So for me, I’ll just be happy to see my brother, because there’s a chance I couldn’t see him.”
The Las Vegas PD claims Bennett wasn’t racially profiled and didn’t comply with officers directions. The officer’s body camera was shut off just as the incident began.
The president of Las Vegas’s police union sent a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday asking the league to “conduct an investigation, and take appropriate action, into Michael Bennett’s obvious false allegations against our officers.”
On Thursday, NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, “There is no allegation of a violation of the league’s personal conduct policy and therefore there is no basis for an NFL investigation.”
Michael has retained John Burris, an Oakland-based civil rights attorney, to investigate the incident. Burris has been a supporter of former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Kaepernick still remains unsigned this season. He tweeted his support of Bennett on Wednesday writing:
This violation that happened against my Brother Michael Bennett is disgusting and unjust. I stand with Michael and I stand with the people.
This violation that happened against my Brother Michael Bennett is disgusting and unjust. I stand with Michael and I stand with the people. pic.twitter.com/TqXFiso6lk
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) September 6, 2017
Seahawks head coach, Pete Carroll and the NFL are fully behind Michael.
Pete Carroll, said the incident was indicative of wider problems in the United States:
