Seahawks' Michael Bennett Claims Las Vegas Cop Threatened To 'Blow My F**king Head Off'
The Seattle Seahawks football player recounted the incident that took place in Las Vegas in a statement released Wednesday.
Michael Bennett states that the incident occurred following the fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor in Las Vegas when he and others returning to their hotel rooms from the fight heard what sounded like gunshots nearby. The Las Vegas police then singled the athlete out, with one of the police officers proceeding to tell Bennett that he would "blow my f**king head off" if the football player moved.
"All I could think of was 'I'm going to die for no other reason than I am black and my skin color is somehow a threat,'" Bennett recounted. "My life flashed before my eyes as I thought of my girls. Would I ever play with them again? Or watch them have kids? Or be able to kiss my wife again and tell her I love her?"
Only after realizing that Bennett was a professional football player did the police let him go, never justifying why they used such excessive force on him in the first place.
"I have always held a strong conviction that protesting or standing up for justice is just simply, the right thing to do," Bennett said. "This fact is unequivocally, without question why before every game, I sit during the national anthem...no matter how much money you make, what job title you have, or how much you give, when you are seen a 'Ni**er,' you will be treated that way."
Bennett is considering legal action against the Las Vegas cops who profiled him.
Video of the arrest can be seen below via TMZ.
Bennett's brother, Martellus Bennett, and Colin Kaepernick voiced their frustration with the way Bennett was treated by Las Vegas cops.
"I could hear the fear in your voice, the tears in your eyes as well your sprinting heart beat," Martellus wrote. "...I'm sad that you have to share this type of experience with the world but at the same time, I'm happy that it happened to you and you lived to talk about it because we all know you're going to talk about it...I encourage you to Continue telling your story and the stories of those that came before."
Kaepernick kept his comments on the incident short, tweeting out, "This violation that happened against my Brother Michael Bennett is disgusting and unjust. I stand with Michael and I stand with the people."