If the NFL thought it had player protests contained to the sidelines, a game on Sunday evening proved that they’re now a possibility on the gridiron itself, too.
During yesterday’s matchup pitting the Seattle Seahawks against the San Francisco 49ers, Seahawks linebacker Michael Bennett—who two weeks ago alleged that he was the victim of police brutality in Las Vegas—sacked 49ers’ quarterback, Brian Hoyer, and raised his fist in the “Black Power” salute to celebrate the play. A blogger quickly tweeted out the video:
Michael Bennett (@mosesbread72) with the Black Power salute after his sack of the 49ers QB in Seattle. #Seahawks pic.twitter.com/OY1oE7HcgX
— Omar Moore (@popcornreel) September 17, 2017
It’s unclear whether Bennett meant to target the protest at the 49ers organization, but it has a particularly ironic flavor, given that the Bay Area team once employed quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who was the first NFL player to begin silently protesting during the playing of the national anthem last year, and has since become a much-analyzed topic in the sports media world.
Before the season beginning, Bennett told the media that he’d be protesting the national anthem at games all season long. In a public statement following his own allegations of police brutality, which allegedly occurred after the Mayweather-McGregor fight, Bennett said, “Do I think every police officer is bad? No, I don’t believe that. Do I believe there are some people out there that judge people on the color of their skin? I do believe that.”
The silent protest that Bennett made on-field Sunday was made famous during the 1968 Olympics when African-American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised their black-gloved fists in protest during the medal ceremony.
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