Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett released a letter Wednesday accusing the Las Vegas Police Department of mistreating him and threatening to “blow his f---ing head off” after detaining him in the wake of a report of gunfire in the city following the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor boxing match last month.
Partial video of the incident was later released and the Las Vegas police said the case is under investigation while asking people to reserve judgment until they address it publicly on Wednesday.
Bennett had not spoken about the letter publicly until a press conference at the team facility on Wednesday afternoon. Bennett spoke for about five minutes before becoming emotional while talking about his daughters and walking away from the podium.
Bennett did not go into the details of the night, but said he knew there was video and that he’d let his legal team take care of things on that end so he can focus on football. He repeated many of the themes from his letter about feeling like the incident was a sign of the inequality he’s spoken out and taken action to protest over the last couple of years.
“I didn’t ask for this moment; it just happened to be me. I’m just lucky to be here to be able to speak about it,” Bennett said. “At any moment I could’ve made the wrong decision … [and] the Seahawks would be wearing the patch with number 72 on it.”
Bennett said he felt he’s had good support from the Seahawks organization and head coach Pete Carroll posted a letter saying the team stands “in support of him and anyone facing inequalities.”