Michael Bennett tweets about harrowing experience

On Aug. 26, Michael Bennett went through a terrible experience with the Las Vegas Police Department.

Shortly after the biggest boxing match of the year, police officers in Las Vegas harassed Michael Bennett, a defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks. After what sounded like gunshots, several hundred people began to run from the supposed source of the noise.

According to Bennett, this is when things took a turn south. A police officer saw a large black man running away, singled him out, and told him to get on the ground. At this point, the officers mistreated the defensive end until they realized he was not a regular black man.

In his tweet that told the story and announced his intentions, Bennett detailed his experience. Police officers threatened him with their weapons, cut off circulation in his hands, and one of them jammed his knee into the defensive end’s back.

The police officers released Bennett once they confirmed his identity as a professional football player. His account is in the embedded tweet below.

Bennett also announced his intentions to take matters into his own hands, at least legally. He has hired John Burris, a civil rights attorney out of Oakland, to review the incident with Bennett and decide whether there is cause for lawsuits or other actions.

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This all comes the day after The Undefeated published an article about Bennett. This piece details the star defensive end’s life of activism. While his most visible protest is sitting during the national anthem before football games, it certainly is not his only act to draw awareness.