Sports

ESPN Airs Special On Player Who Lied About Police Encounter To Seem Like A Victim

Michael Bennett (Credit: Getty Images/Christian Petersen)

Font Size:

ESPN ran a special on Michael Bennett and how great of a citizen he is on Monday night, despite the fact he lied about a recent encounter with police to seem like a victim of racial profiling.

The Seattle Seahawks player was involved in an encounter with the police in Las Vegas in August in which he claimed he was targeted for “being a black man in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Bennett also claimed an officer pointed a gun at his head and told him he would “blow [his] f**king head off” if he moved.

A few weeks after the incident, a video taken via police body cameras completely debunked Bennett’s claim.

However there was no mention of Bennett’s encounter when ESPN aired a glowing special on his charitable work on Monday night ahead of the Seahawks’ game against the Atlanta Falcons. Not only did they blatantly ignore his race-baiting hoax from just two months ago, but they praised Bennett for taking a knee during the national anthem and taking a stand against racial injustice.

There are plenty of players on both the Seattle Seahawks and the Atlanta Falcons worth praising — Bennett is not one of them. (RELATED: Las Vegas Police Video Undercuts NFL Star’s Racism Claims)

This would have been a more suitable special to air on Bennett if the network had chosen to educate his fans about the truth of his encounter with the police. ESPN should be ashamed of themselves for hailing him as a hero.