The lawyer for Eagles defensive end Michael Bennett says the accusation that he pushed and injured an elderly, disabled woman at last year’s Super Bowl will be exposed in due time as nonsense.
“There was no fighting, there was no pushing,” attorney Rusty Hardin told NJ.com. “The entire thing is ludicrous. That’s what I think we’ll find when it’s all over.”
The charge Bennett is facing is serious: It’s injury to the elderly, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Bennett is accused of pushing his way onto the field in Houston to celebrate after his brother, then-Patriots tight end Martellus Bennett, and his team won the Super Bowl. In the process, the authorities allege, Bennett injured an elderly paraplegic woman who was working on the event staff at the game.
But Hardin said Bennett is not overly concerned because he knows he’s innocent and believes that when all the evidence comes to light, the charges will be shown to be trumped up.
“He knows he didn’t do this,” Hardin said. “He’s assuming the system will ultimately conclude that once they get all the information. But it’s obviously a very embarrassing and humiliating thing to go through, walking out of a court room with a bunch of TV cameras and in handcuffs, particularly for something you didn’t even do.”
Bennett was a player for the Seahawks at the time of the incident in question but was traded this offseason to the Eagles.