Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett did not win the “Walter Payton Man of the Year Award.” However, he will go to the Pro Bowl.
Bennett, who gained national attention this year for continuing Colin Kaepernick’s anthem protests, and, falsely accusing the Las Vegas Police Department of racially profiling him during an active shooter incident, will make his third consecutive trip to the Pro Bowl. This time, the Seahawk defender will replace Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen, who has an injury and can’t play.
According to the Seahawks official website, “Bennett’s addition to the NFC roster gives the Seahawks six Pro-Bowlers this year, joining safety Earl Thomas, linebacker Bobby Wagner, quarterback Russell Wilson, tight end Jimmy Graham and receiver Doug Baldwin, who like Bennett was initially selected as a Pro-Bowl alternate, but was added as an injury replacement earlier this month. While Wagner was selected for the Pro Bowl for a fourth straight year, he will not play in the game due to the hamstring injury that he played through for much of the second half of the season.
“Bennett, who earned co-MVP honors along with Russell Wilson in his first Pro Bowl, led the Seahawks in tackles for loss (14) and quarterback hits (24), and was second on the team in sacks with 8.5. His tackle-for-loss total was tied for ninth best in the NFC and tied for 16th in the NFL, and he was tied for sixth in the NFC and tied for 10th league-wide in QB hits.”
The Seahawks had a large number of of anthem protesters on their team this year, and kept protesting consistently throughout the year. Bennett was detained by the Las Vegas Police Department during an active shooter incident after the Mayweather-McGregor fight in August.
Bennett took to Twitter and blasted the LVMPD, claiming that he was detained “for no other reason than I am black and my skin color is somehow a threat.” Bennett also claimed that, as he was laying on the ground after he trying to flee the scene, that the police threatened to “blow my f*ck*ng head off.”
The LVMPD then released body camera footage which clearly showed that Bennett was pursued and detained because he ran from the police, not because of his skin color. Moreover, there was no evidence to suggest the police ever threatened to blow his head off. Nor was Bennett detained for “what felt like an eternity,” like he claimed on Twitter.
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