Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett got a strong statement of support from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on Wednesday.
The statement came after Bennett shared the details of a harrowing incident that allegedly occurred while he was in Las Vegas for the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight on Aug. 26.
As he was heading home after the fight, Bennett said that he heard gunshots being fired. After police arrived on the scene, Bennett says that they "singled" him out and pointed their guns at him for one reason: Because he was a black man who was in the "wrong place place at the wrong time."
Bennett added that the officers used excessive force while he was in custody, and that one cop even threatened to "blow his head off."
After hearing the story, Goodell said made it clear that the league supports Bennett.
"Michael Bennett represents the best of the NFL -- a leader on his team and in his community," Goodell said. "Our foremost concern is the welfare of Michael and his family. While we understand the Las Vegas police department will address this later this evening, the issues Michael has been raising deserve serious attention from all of our leaders in every community. We will support Michael and all NFL players in promoting mutual respect between law enforcement and the communities they loyally serve and fair and equal treatment under the law."
Bennett also received a statement of support from Seahawks coach Pete Carroll.
"What happened with Michael is a classic illustration of the reality of inequalities that are demonstrated daily," Carroll said. "May this incident inspire all of us to respond with compassion when inequalities are brought to light and allow us to have the courage to stand for change. We can do better than this."
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has denied that they racially profiled Bennett.
The LVMPD's version of events is that they got a call about shots fired at a casino. They didn't know exactly what the shooter looked like, so they looked for any suspicious people and Bennett qualified because he allegedly attempted to flee after noticing a group of officers.
Police are currently investigating what exactly happened during the incident. The LVMPD sounded optimistic that the truth would eventually come out because they say there were at least 126 pieces of video evidence that might have caught different parts of the incident.
