Violence events in Charlottesville (Virginia) over the weekend have echoed in football, and Michael Bennett, a defensive Seattle Seahawks player, said protests during the hymn might change if white players were part of the movement .
The player said that with the presence of white players “things would change”.
In an interview with ESPN’s SC6, he said that “when someone on the other side understands the spirit of the movement, it changes all the dynamics, if that moment comes, things really will make a positive leap.”
This, after Bennett said he had been thinking of sitting in protest during the intonation of the anthem during the summer games, but that he made the decision to do so after the violent events in Charlottesville.
“Over the weekend I wondered why so much violence, so much hate,” Bennett said.
“I remembered why we are US citizens, I remembered it is to have freedom and equality, and then I thought we should make sure we never forget those values,” he said.
Bennett agreed with quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who started the protest movement last season.
“Now (Kaepernick) is unemployed, sacrificed, talked and dealt with many things that were going on, suffered death threats, there were people who did not want him on the playing field, people who hated him,” he said.
“But now, what we want is that your message is still alive, we want freedom and equality for all,” he said.
Bennett added that because of the influence that professional players have over children “instead of inspiring them to be athletes, we can inspire them to be change makers.” Efe
