Michael Bennett Says Vegas Police Threatened To 'Blow My F**king Head Off' During An Incident After The Mayweather-McGregor Fight
What happens in Vegas isn't going to stay in Vegas and one of the most woke players in the NFL is going to make sure of that.
This morning, Michael Bennett took to his Twitter and Instagram accounts and shared his painful experience with Las Vegas police following the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor fight about two weeks ago.
The Seattle Seahawks star defensive end says he was headed back to his hotel following the bout when people started running due to what sounded like gunfire. The 6-foot-4, 274-pound player began to run, too, but claims he was singled out by police and stopped.
Bennett claims that cops also pointed their guns at him "for doing nothing more than simply being a black man in the wrong place at the wrong time."
The 31-year-old added that the officer with his gun drawn told him that he would "blow my f**king head off" if he moved.
He said that going through the scary experience had him feeling "terrified," "confused" and "helpless."
"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 continued sharing. "My life flashed before my eyes as I thought about 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?"
Bennett goes on to write that police handcuffed and placed him into a police car, before confirming his identity and releasing him "without any legitimate justification for the Officers' abusive conduct."
"They apparently realized I was not a thug, common criminal or ordinary black man," he said, "but Michael Bennett a famous professional football player."
He is considering filing a civil rights lawsuit against the police, as reported by ESPN.
"I have always held a strong conviction that protesting or standing up for justice is just simply, the right thing to do," Bennett began to close the lengthy tweet with. "This fact is unequivocally, without question why before every game, I sit during the national anthem — because equality doesn't live in this country and no matter how much money you make, what job title you have, or how much you give, when you are seen as a 'N****r,' you will be treated that way."
You can read Bennett's full detailing of the disturbing incident below.
Upon learning of the ordeal, Bennett's brother, Martellus, who plays tight end for the Green Bay Packers, is simply happy that his sibling is alive to share his experience.
Part of what Michael detailed in his lengthy tweet about the experience was caught on a video obtained by TMZ Sports.
In the footage, you can see a handcuffed Bennett laying on his stomach and telling an officer, "I wasn't doing nothing, man" and "I was here with my friends. They told us to get out, everybody ran."
Last month, Bennett told the media that he would sit during the national anthem before every game of this 2017 NFL season as a stance against inequality. An ultra-disturbing incident like this only warrants that stance more, as there continues to be racism and unfair treatment of unarmed African-American men at the hands of police.
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