Seahawks Player Michael Bennett Sits Out National Anthem In Protest
Defensive end player Michael Bennett sat out of the national anthem during the Seahawk’s exhibition game Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers.
“With everything that’s been going on the last couple of months and especially after the last couple of days, seeing everything in Virginia, seeing what’s going on out there earlier today in Seattle, I just wanted to be able to use my platform to be able to continue to speak over injustice,” Bennett said, according to the LA Times.
The game took place one day after a “Unite the Right” rally in Virginia, where neo-nazis, white supremacists and KKK members gathered to defend a confederate monument. The rally attracted hundreds of counter-protesters who began scuffling and fighting with rally-goers throughout the day.
The rally turned deadly when 20-year old white supremacist James Alex Fields Jr. ran into a crowd, injuring 19 and killing 32-year old counter-protester Heather Heyer.
On Sunday, another protest and counter-protest also turned into a street brawl in Seattle.
Bennett told reporters that he loved the military, but he was opposed to segregation, riots, oppression and gender slander. He said differences in lifestyle, culture or religion shouldn’t be a source of hatred.
“I just want people to understand that no matter what, we need to stay together. It’s more about being a human being at this point,” he said to the LA Times.
On Saturday night, Oakland Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch also sat out the national anthem during a game with the Arizona Cardinals. Lynch did not comment after the game on his action, but teammate E.J. Manuel said the team supported Lynch’s decision, according to ESPN.
NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick made headlines in 2016 when he began kneeling for the national anthem in protest of racial discrimination and police violence in the United States. His peaceful protest created a wave of similar protests among athletes across sports, but also attracted ample criticism.
This season, Kaepernick has not been picked up by any team despite his apparently strong track record and impressive muscular physique. NFL Players Association president Eric Winston said Friday that the organization was willing to help Kaepernick find a team, adding that it appeared fairly obvious the quarterback was being blackballed for his political protests.
“For Christ’s sakes, you have an owner out there publicly saying, ‘I’m polling fans to decide whether I should have this guy on my team or not.’ It’s obvious that owners are scared of it, are worried about it,” he said, according to CBS Sports.
The Baltimore Ravens had reportedly considered taking Kaepernick on as a player, however on Monday the team signed quarterback Thad Lewis, passing on the controversial player, according to CBS Sports. Reports in July indicated that team owner Steve Bisciotti was reluctant to sign Kaepernick.
[Featured image by Tom Pennington/Getty Images]
