Seattle Seahawks star Michael Bennett describes police brutality in disturbing open letter

Michael Bennett, football player for the Seahawks.

(Image credit: Elsa/Getty Images)

published 6 September 2017

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett described disturbing mistreatment at the hands of the Las Vegas police in an open letter to the "world" that he posted to Twitter on Wednesday.

The incident reportedly occurred after the fight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather last month. After hearing "what sounded like gun shots" on his way back to his hotel, Bennett claims he was targeted by officers "for doing nothing more than simply being a black man in the wrong place at the wrong time." Bennett wrote that he was ordered to the ground, while one officer "placed his gun near by head and warned me that if I moved he would 'blow my f---ing head off."

The officers' excessive use of force was unbearable. I felt helpless as I lay there on the ground, handcuffed, facing the real-life threat of being killed. 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.' 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? [Michael Bennett, via Twitter]

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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