Seattle Seahawks star defensive end Michael Bennett claimed Wednesday Las Vegas police officers threatened to kill him for no reason.
Bennett released a letter on Twitter about an altercation between him and LVPD officers the night of Aug. 26 when he was in town for the fight between Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather. The defensive power player claimed it was a case of mistaken identity after gunshots rang out following the boxing match.
The letter went viral in a matter of minutes.
“He placed his gun near my head and warned me that if I moved he would ‘blow my f*cking head off,'” Bennett wrote in part of the letter.
He also added, “I felt helpless as I lay there on the ground handcuffed facing the real-life threat of being killed. All I could think of was ‘I’m going to die for no other reason than I am black and my skin color is somehow a threat.’ My life flashed before my eyes as I thought of my girls.”
Equality. pic.twitter.com/NQ4pJt94AZ
— Michael Bennett (@mosesbread72) September 6, 2017
Bennett has been outspoken about supporting players who protest during the NFL, and has protested himself to signal his displeasure with his perceived oppression in America.
The Las Vegas police department hasn’t released a statement on the issue yet. If this turns out to have gone down the way Bennett claims, it will become a massive issue and storyline for the NFL this season.
There is a brief video of Bennett being cuffed, but there’s no tape of what lead to him being detained. It’s also worth noting there is never a gun to his head in the video.
Check back for updates on this developing situation.