The Super Bowl will be played on Sunday miles from where the Twin Towers that were destroyed during the 9/11 attacks once stood, but Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll was never asked this week at official media events about reports that indicated that he could be a 9/11 truther.
According to a Deadspin report from six months ago, Carroll reportedly questioned Retired general Peter Chiarelli, who had just finished his term as the Army’s vice chief of staff, about whether some of the events that occurred on 9/11 actually happened. Chiarelli visited Carroll at the Seattle Seahawks headquarters last spring. When Chiarelli mentioned of Iraq, Carroll reportedly “wanted to know if the September 11 attacks had been planned or faked by the United States government”:
In particular, Carroll wanted to know whether the attack on the Pentagon had really happened. Chiarelli–who was the top-ranking Army official inside the Pentagon when American Airlines Flight 77 crashed into its western side–explained that it had. He said he had lost many colleagues. But Carroll didn’t stop there. He ran through the whole 9/11 truther litany.
“Every 9/11 conspiracy theory you can think of, Pete asked about,” said Riki Ellison, the former NFL linebacker who now runs the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance and introduced Carroll to Chiarelli. Ellison, along with Seahawks offensive line coach Pat Ruel, was at the meeting as well. “And he didn’t stop at 9/11–he had lots of questions about the role of the military today.”
Ellison, a three-time Super Bowl winner who played with the 49ers and at USC who now runs the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, had said that Carroll “grew up in California during Vietnam, and during Watergate. That’s just the perspective he brings to the table.” The discussion reportedly turned hostile, but Ellison said, “Pete had a four-star general in the room, one of the army’s top guys. Why wouldn’t you push the envelope?”
Ellison, whose son plays for the Minnesota Vikings and whom Carroll coached at USC, did not return Breitbart News’ request for comment on the matter.
A writer for SB Nation had asked readers to pressure mainstream sports reporters, like ESPN’s Ed Werder, who has been tasked with covering the Seahawks this week, to ask Carroll to clarify his remarks and the report before the week. The week did not go without non-traditional questions being asked. Players were asked about strippers, for instance.
But the closest anyone came to asking Carroll about his possible trutherism was when he was asked on Tuesday about Macklemore, the Seattle native and musician who also tweeted lyrics about George W. Bush knocking down the Twin Towers. But the question was in reference to Macklemore’s Grammy win and his “uplifting” music Carroll plays during Seattle’s practices.
On Wednesday, he was asked about Marshawn Lynch’s avoidance of the media, assembling his coaching staff, and his pursuit of Peyton Manning in free agency over two years ago.
On Thursday, Carroll fielded questions about the the “Seahwaks 24/7” mentality, Bud Grant, and the only original Seahawks employee who is still with the team, among other topics.
On Friday, Carroll was asked about about Seahawks owner Paul Allen and Xs and Os.
But he was not asked to clarify his remarks or address that report during any official media events, all of which were held in the New York area, while New York is under heightened security alerts. The only chance left for reporters to ask about Carroll’s potential trutherism will be in pre- or post-game interviews on Sunday.
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