Michael Bennett posted a letter describing a frightening encounter with Las Vegas police.
TMZ released a video showing Bennett being handcuffed by the cop.
Las Vegas police held a press conference in which they said race played no factor in how they dealt with Bennett.
Video clearly shows the cop holding a gun on Bennett as he prepares to cuff him.
Plenty of people wonder why
Michael Bennett has picked up where Colin Kaepernick left off in sitting out the national anthem.
If you are one of those folks, you obviously are among those Bennett wants to take out of their “comfort zone” and to make evaluate whether the “Star-Spangled Banner” really stands for what you think it means. He wants you to rethink your allegiance to a nation that still condones the oppression of minorities, a country now run by an obvious racist.
If Bennett’s sit-down offends you, maybe you forgot the anthem is a war hymn written by a slave owner during America’s slavery era. The non-inclusive salute to the “land of the free and the home of the brave” stuck as America’s song, passed down from generation to generation.
It made its first sports appearance at the 1918 World Series, where it served as a random uniting moment as World War I was winding down. Of course, it united only white people. Baseball did not begin to integrate until Jackie Robinson made his major-league debut in 1947, and segregation was rampant throughout America until the late 1960s — 100 years after the Emancipation Proclamation. This was far from the “land of the free” for everyone.
So, yeah, Bennett has every reason not to celebrate the song. Just like Kaepernick did. Just like everyone does.
Continue reading Bennett’s stance a chance to reconsider anthem’s meaning
Not crying any tears for Raiders fans.
The Raiders’ pending move out of Oakland reminds me of my dad’s story from his ill-advised visit to the Coliseum for a Seahawks-Raiders game back in the early 2000s:
As he and my mom walked through the parking lot to the stadium, the air was filled with the stench of marijuana and other gag-inducing odors. Tailgating for Raiders games is apparently one big bong fest.
As my dad watched the game in the first half, the thug behind him kept spitting his chaw onto the back of Dad’s Seahawks shirt. What kind of a lowlife does that to a 60-year-old man?
I asked him why he didn’t get security to toss the miscreant out or have him arrested for assault. He said “security” had no interest in wading into the stands, where they would have been pummeled by drug-addled roughneck Raider fans.
At halftime, Dad took off the shirt and threw it away (fortunately, it was a sunny day) — then went and found seats where he wouldn’t be assaulted. I suspect that was a pretty tough task.
Enjoy the Raiders, Vegas!
Trevone Boykin’s arrest does not bode well for his future with the Seahawks, and you can bet the team is stepping up its scouting for a new backup quarterback.
Boykin showed some promise as an undrafted guy last year, and it’s possible the Hawks had been comfortable adding only a rookie for camp — until Boykin reportedly showed the very poor judgment of getting into a car with a drunken driver who ended up hurting eight people.
The Seahawks won’t necessarily release Boykin now, but their history shows they don’t keep legally troubled backup players for long. And the fact that this is Boykin’s second arrest in two years — including a bust while he was at TCU — could mean the Hawks decide to move on.
Among the many topics Doug Baldwin covered during his stint on 710 ESPN earlier this week was the dynamic of the Seahawks’ locker room.
He talked about Russell Wilson’s growth as a leader, Richard Sherman’s ego, the overall motivation of the players to win and more. One of the most interesting things he mentioned was the trouble younger players have bonding with teammates.
Most Seahawks fans can’t get enough of Marshawn Lynch, even in retirement, and he provided one of the best glimpses into his character yet during his appearance on “Running Wild with Bear Grylls” earlier this week.
Lynch was alternately hilarious and philosophical, opening up to Grylls — who obviously knows little of American football and was not out to get anything from Lynch beyond his cooperation — as they bonded on a two-day trek through the Corsican Mountains.
During one rest stop along their journey, Grylls asked Lynch why he retired from the NFL.
“I’ve been doing this since I was 12, 13 years old. It starts to add up. Wear and tear,” Lynch said. “Full body. And mentally. Having to wake yourself up to go and put in all the work that it’s going to take. You know, the physical, the mental. The media starting to wear — all of it. It just all come together.”
Asked the highlight of his career, he said, “Most people don’t get to walk out or get to go out the way that I did, so that’s probably the biggest highlight.
“When it’s time, it’s time.”
Continue reading Lynch talks retirement & more on trek with Grylls
The more patriotic Seahawks fans have become alarmed over the possibility of the players pulling some stunt during the anthem that disrespects America and its patriots. But there seems little reason to worry.
Nate Boyer, the most well-known patriot to have played with these Seahawks, says Doug Baldwin and his band of socially conscientious teammates are planning something much more honorable Sunday before they play the Dolphins.
Boyer, a Green Beret veteran who was with the Hawks in camp last year, told FoxSportsRadio (via The Seattle Times): “I spoke with the players, and they realize that 9/11 is a very important day in our nation’s history. The Seahawks, and probably every team, will be honoring those who serve in camouflage and also those in blue who served on such a difficult day.
“Shortly after 9/11 our country seemed more unified than I had ever experienced and was the most unified it has been since I have been alive. Since that date, we have grown farther apart in our unity. Standing together this Sunday is key to making progress. What the team will do is a powerful sign of unification.”
We’re not getting worked up about any of this anthem nonsense; but, for those who are, it sounds like there is no reason to be worried Sunday. And these young guys just might make the super patriots in the crowd real proud. We shall see …
Pete Carroll encourages his Seahawks players to be themselves, which probably explains why more Seahawks are willing to express their opinions than players on many other teams.
Seahawks past and present have been engaging in a major discussion about injustices in society all summer, and it has risen to new levels this week in the wake of Colin Kaepernick’s oddly controversial protest.
Michael Bennett started talking about social injustice earlier this summer, calling out major NFL players for not joining NBA players in speaking out about police violence against black people.
Richard Sherman has voiced his opinion on Black Lives Matter and much more, too.
Russell Wilson, known for avoiding controversy, still made a little of the good kind when he refused to get married in North Carolina because of the state’s prejudicial bathroom law.
And now Kaepernick’s national anthem protest over police treatment of black people has expanded to include several current and former Seahawks.
Continue reading Seahawks don’t hesitate to add to social-issues conversation again
Over the weekend, DeShawn Shead became the fourth Seahawk to get married this year. Earl Thomas had a blowout ceremony in April, and Russell Wilson and Jon Ryan married their equally famous women earlier this month.
That’s four rings for the Hawks this year. We’d like to propose they add another next February.
CHAWK TALK: Everything being said about the Seahawks 