Contemporary Authors

• Things That Make White People Uncomfortable. With Dave Zirin. Foreword by Martellus Bennett. - 2018 Haymarket Books, Chicago, IL

• KRO Radio - http://mynorthwest.com/947573/bennett-book-white-people-uncomfortable/?

  Michael Bennett’s book is meant to make you feel uncomfortable
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  By MyNorthwest.com
  April 7, 2018 at 7:37 am
  Michael Bennett appears in Harris County Civil Court in Houston on Monday, March 26, 2018. Bennett has surrendered to authorities in Houston. (Godofredo A. Vasquez/Houston Chronicle via AP)

  If the title of Michael Bennett’s recently-released book, “Things that Make White People Uncomfortable” makes you feel just that, it’s a great reason to pick it up, according to the book’s co-author.

  RELATED: Bennett indicted for alleged Super Bowl incident

  “There’s topic in the book that makes Michael uncomfortable,” co-author Dave Zirin told KIRO Nights. “He is really vulnerable in the book. He talks about his family, his feelings, the Seahawks, incidents of police violence that have affected him, his daughters at great length … and he says it in the introduction, ‘I’m uncomfortable writing this book. I’m uncomfortable talking about these issues. Let’s be uncomfortable together and see if we can grow together.’”

  The book attempts to discuss controversial topics that people often shy away from. Racism, police violence, athletes’ relationship with sports leagues are topics in the book.

  Zirin says that the title is meant to offer a humorous entry into the issues.

  “That was Michael’s idea for the book,” Zirin said. “He wanted to call it ‘Things That Make White People Uncomfortable At Dinner.’ The idea was that it be a cheeky, funny title. It has roots in a famous quote by Bill Russell, from the 1960s, the Boston Celtic great, who said that if we are going to see change in this country we have to figure out a way to make the majority white population uncomfortable, otherwise change won’t occur.”

  “(Bennett) has a hell of a sense of humor,” he said. “He likes showing off and he thought it would be the sort of thing that would make people smile, even. Not the sort of thing that would become this polarizing title that would put people at arm’s length from the book.”
  “Things That Make White People Uncomfortable” troubles

  The book was released this week.

  However, Bennett’s book tour was put on hold. The former Seahawk was indicted for an alleged incident that occurred during the 2017 Super Bowl in Houston, Texas. He is accused of pushing his way onto the field, as a spectator. In the process, he allegedly threw a disabled, elderly woman on the ground. He faces a felony charge with the potential of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

  Still, it seems the book is doing well anyway, Zirin says, who calls the charges “outrageous and absurd.”

  “His lawyer has said that these charges are bogus,” Zirin said. “If they get dismissed and he is found not guilty, as I totally think he will be, hopefully, this won’t be a country that views him as branded; as somehow a criminal because of this. Again, 14 months after the fact, the idea he pushed somebody in a wheelchair, on the evidence of one police officer speaking about it, even though … there are cameras and police officers everywhere. Somehow, they have no video of this?”

• Author's book site - https://www.michaelbennettbook.com/

  Michael Bennett is a three-time Pro Bowler, Pro Bowl MVP, Super Bowl Champion, and two-time NFC Champion. He has gained international recognition for his public support for the Black Lives Matter Movement, women’s rights, and other social justice causes. In 2017, he was named one of the 100 Most Influential African Americans by The Root, was the Seattle Seahawks nominee for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year award, and was honored along with his brother Martellus with a BET Shine a Light award for exceptional service.

  He is the cofounder with Pele Bennett of The Bennett Foundation, which educates underserved children and communities through free, accessible programming. He has held free camps and health clinics in Seattle, in his hometown of Houston, in his current offseason home, Honolulu, and in South Dakota on the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe.
  ​
  He donates all of his endorsement money and the proceeds from his jersey sales to fund health and education projects for poor and underserved youth and minority communities, and recently expanded his reach globally to support STEM programming in Africa.
  ​
  He is the proud father of three daughters, Peyton, Blake, and Ollie.

• Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Bennett_(defensive_lineman,_born_1985)

  Michael Bennett refer to caption
  Bennett with the Seattle Seahawks in 2014
  No. 77 – Philadelphia Eagles
  Position: Defensive end
  Personal information
  Born: November 13, 1985 (age 32)
  Independence, Louisiana
  Height: 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
  Weight: 274 lb (124 kg)
  Career information
  High school: Houston (TX) Alief Taylor
  College: Texas A&M
  Undrafted: 2009
  Career history

  Seattle Seahawks (2009)
  Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2009–2012)
  Seattle Seahawks (2013–2017)
  Philadelphia Eagles (2018–present)

  Roster status: Active
  Career highlights and awards

  Super Bowl champion (XLVIII)
  3× Pro Bowl (2015–2017)
  Pro Bowl Defensive MVP (2015)

  Career NFL statistics as of 2017
  Total tackles: 293
  Sacks: 54.0
  Forced fumbles: 8
  Fumble recoveries: 3
  Pass deflections: 4
  Defensive touchdowns: 1
  Player stats at NFL.com

  Michael Bennett Jr. (born November 13, 1985) is an American football defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas A&M, and signed with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2009. Bennett has also played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He is the brother of former tight end Martellus Bennett.
  Contents

  1 Early years
  2 College career
  3 Professional career
  3.1 Seattle Seahawks (first stint)
  3.2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  3.3 Seattle Seahawks (second stint)
  3.4 Philadelphia Eagles
  3.5 Statistics
  4 Awards and highlights
  5 Personal life
  6 References
  7 Works
  8 Further reading
  9 External links

  Early years

  Bennett attended Alief Taylor High School in Houston, Texas, where he played football, baseball, and competed in track. In football, he earned first-team All-District honors as a defensive lineman in his senior year, after compiling 110 tackles and four sacks. He also earned honorable mention All-District honors as a junior. In track & field, Bennett was a standout discus thrower, with a top-throw of 45.72 meters (147 ft).[1] In addition, he also ran a 4.79-second 40-yard dash and jumped 36.5 inches in the vertical jump.[2]
  College career

  In 2005, as a freshman at Texas A&M, he made 27 tackles, including 3.5 quarterback sacks, while seeing action in all 11 games and starting 4. In 2006, he was the team's top tackler among defenders that did not start a game—he posted 27 tackles, including two sacks and 6 tackles for loss, while seeing action in every game. He also forced a pair of fumbles and batted down a pass. In 2007, he was selected to the honorable mention All-Big 12 Conference team at defensive end after registered 43 tackles including six tackles for a loss of yardage. In 2008, Bennett played in 11 games and made 42 tackles with 12.5 for losses and 2.5 sacks. He also played alongside his brother, Martellus Bennett, from 2006 to 2008 at Texas A&M.
  Professional career
  Pre-draft measurables Ht Wt 40-yard dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert jump Broad BP Wonderlic
  6 ft 3 1⁄2 in
  (1.92 m) 274 lb
  (124 kg) 5.00 s 1.62 s 2.84 s 31 in
  (0.79 m) 9 ft 2 in
  (2.79 m) 24 reps X
  Seattle Seahawks (first stint)

  Bennett was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Seattle Seahawks on April 27, 2009.[3] An NFL Draft analyst noted that Bennett was not drafted probably due to his inconsistent performance in college. The team initially believed he could serve at left defensive end. After working with coaches during training camp, he was moved to the inside as a pass-rushing tackle.[4][5][6] During the preseason, he compiled nine tackles, two sacks, five QB hurries, a tipped pass and a fumble recovery.[7] He made the final roster by the end of the preseason.[8][9]

  Bennett was waived by the Seahawks on October 10, 2009 in order to make room for offensive tackle Kyle Williams, who was signed off of the practice squad.[10]
  Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  Bennett in 2012 with Tampa Bay

  Bennett was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on October 12, 2009. Tampa Bay switched him back to defensive tackle, and he became a key part of the defense filling in for the injured Gerald McCoy.

  Bennett's best season as a Buccaneer came in 2012 when he recorded career-highs in tackles (41), sacks (9), and forced fumbles (3).
  Seattle Seahawks (second stint)

  Bennett was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Seattle Seahawks on March 14, 2013.[11] He signed a 1-year contract reportedly worth $4.8 million, with $1.5 million guaranteed.[12] On March 24, 2013, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Bennett had a torn rotator cuff.[13] On December 2, 2013, Bennett scored his first NFL touchdown against the New Orleans Saints after recovering a fumble from the Saints quarterback Drew Brees. Bennett was in fact a key contributor to the 2013 Seahawks defensive unit that ranked first in the NFL and went on to win Super Bowl XLVIII.

  On March 10, 2014, the day before free agency began for the 2014 season, the Seahawks re-signed Bennett to a four-year, $28.5 million contract with $16 million guaranteed.[14] Rumors had previously stated that Michael could be joining his brother Martellus in Chicago.[15]

  After the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game on January 18, 2015, Bennett commandeered a Seattle police officer's bicycle and took a victory lap around Century Link Field.[16]

  In Super Bowl XLIX, with 18 seconds left in the end of the game, Bennett committed a neutral zone infraction. Afterward, a brawl ensued, but Bennett was unaffected. The Seahawks lost to the Patriots 24–28.

  On October 22 of the 2015 season, in a game against the San Francisco 49ers, Michael Bennett recorded 3.5 sacks of Colin Kaepernick. The Seahawks won the game 20-3, and Bennett was named defensive player of the week for his performance.[17]

  Eight games into the 2015 season, Bennett was ranked as the ninth-best edge defender in the NFL by Pro Football Focus. Through those eight games he had 31 total tackles (21 solo), 6.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 8 tackles for loss.[18] He was ranked 59th on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2016.[19]

  On December 30, 2016, Bennett signed a three-year $31.5 million contract extension with the Seahawks, with one year still on his previous contract, now keeping Bennett signed through the 2020 season.[20][21] He was named to his second straight Pro Bowl in 2016, and was ranked 46th by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2017.[22]

  On December 10, 2017, in a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Bennett struck the knees of Jaguars center Brandon Linder on a kneel down. This led to an altercation between the two teams, and that resulted in teammates Sheldon Richardson and Quinton Jefferson being ejected from the contest.[23]

  On January 22, 2018, Bennett earned his third straight invite to the Pro Bowl after Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen couldn’t attend due to injury.[24]
  Philadelphia Eagles

  On March 7, 2018, the Seahawks agreed to a trade that will send Bennett and a seventh round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for wide receiver Marcus Johnson and a fifth round draft pick.[25] The deal became official on March 14, 2018, at the start of the new NFL league year.[26]
  Statistics
  Year Team Games Tackles Fumbles Interceptions
  GP GS Comb Total Ast Sacks FF FR Yds Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD
  2009 SEA/TB 7 0 3 2 1 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
  2010 TB 13 2 15 13 2 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
  2011 TB 14 10 39 35 4 4.0 1 2 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
  2012 TB 16 16 41 34 7 9.0 3 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 2
  2013 SEA 16 3 31 18 13 8.5 1 1 22 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
  2014 SEA 16 16 38 26 12 7.0 1 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
  2015 SEA 16 16 52 33 19 10.0 2 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
  2016 SEA 11 11 34 24 10 5.0 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0
  2017 SEA 16 16 40 25 15 8.5 0 0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 1
  Career 125 90 293 210 83 54.0 8 3 22 0 0 0.0 0 0 4

  [27]
  Awards and highlights

  Pro Bowl selection (2015, 2016, 2017)
  Super Bowl Champion (XLVIII)
  2× NFC Champion (2013, 2014)
  Pro Bowl Defensive MVP (2015)
  PFWA All-NFC (2015)

  Personal life

  Bennett has two sisters: Ashley Bennett and Renekia Leathers; and three brothers: Donte, Martellus, and Reshaud Bennett. His younger brother Martellus, who is a tight end, was drafted in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft by the Dallas Cowboys.[28]

  Bennett's sack dance, in which he places his hands on his head and swivels his hips, is modeled after professional wrestler Rick Rude.[29]

  Bennett has recently decided to sit during the singing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" before football games. He said his stance was influenced by the violence at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.[30][31]

  In August 2017, Bennett was involved in an incident outside a Las Vegas nightclub with two police officers. Bennett claimed that the officers used excessive force on him and stated the police "threatened to blow my head off."[32] The police have denied his accusations, and claim the video evidence does not corroborate Bennett's story. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said he found no evidence that three officers who encountered Bennett racially profiled him or used excessive force against him.[33] The incident remains under investigation.[34][35][36][37]

  On March 23, 2018, a warrant was issued for Bennett's arrest by police in Harris County, Texas for allegedly injuring an elderly paraplegic worker at Super Bowl LI, held 13 months previously.[38]

• NJ.com - https://www.nj.com/eagles/index.ssf/2018/05/eagles_michael_bennetts_hearing_delayed_again_when_will_his.html

  Eagles' Michael Bennett's hearing delayed again | When will his case be resolved?
  Updated May 16, 2018 at 12:50 PM; Posted May 16, 2018 at 10:48 AM
  Eagles' Michael Bennett had his court hearing re-scheduled again.
  Eagles' Michael Bennett had his court hearing re-scheduled again.(Godofredo A. Vasquez | Houston Chronicle via AP)

  By Zack Rosenblatt

  zrosenblatt@njadvancemedia.com,

  NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

  It has been nearly two months since Michael Bennett was indicted on a felony charge of injury to the elderly stemming from an incident that occurred at the 2017 Super Bowl.

  Bennett, acquired by the Eagles in a March trade, was originally scheduled for his arraignment on April 23, but that was pushed back to this week, scheduled for Thursday.

  Not anymore -- Bennett's hearing will be "put off until we wait for state to provide promised discovery," said Rusty Hardin, Bennett's Houston-based lawyer.

  It is now scheduled for June 27.

  Who are most valuable Eagles? Ranking everyone, from Carson Wentz to Rick Lovato

  Bennett turned himself in to Houston authorities on March 26 following an indictment on a felony charge of injury to the elderly. Bennett posted a $10,000 bail to be promptly released that day, as the judge initially permitted him only to travel to and from his home in Hawaii for court proceedings in Houston.

  Recently, Eagles coach Doug Pederson said that Bennett was at the team's NovaCare Complex in Philadelphia a few weeks ago, though he had not partaken in the team's voluntary off-season work-out program. Pederson said he's not worried about "multiple Pro Bowl players."

  Bennett, 32, has been a Pro Bowler at defensive end for three consecutive seasons and is expected to play an important role on the Eagles defensive line this year.

  The charge came out of an incident that allegedly occurred following Super Bowl LI in 2017 at NRG Stadium in Houston. Bennett is accused of injuring a 66-year-old paraplegic security staffer while trying to push through to celebrate with his brother, Martellus, a tight end for the New England Patriots, who had just completed a miraculous comeback to defeat the Atlanta Falcons in overtime.

  The felony charge of injury to the elderly is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

  "There was no fighting, there was no pushing," Hardin told NJ Advance Media last month. "The entire thing is ludicrous. That's what I think we'll find when it's all over."

• NFL - http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000938531/article/michael-bennetts-arraignment-rescheduled-for-aug-7

  Michael Bennett's arraignment rescheduled for Aug. 7
  Print

  By Austin Knoblauch
  Digital Content Editor
  Published: June 26, 2018 at 01:50 p.m.
  Updated: June 26, 2018 at 03:40 p.m.

  Michael Bennett's arraignment on a felony abuse charge stemming from an incident at Super Bowl LI has been rescheduled for August 7, Bennett's attorney, Rusty Hardin, told NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

  The arraignment hearing has been delayed three times and the case remains in the discovery process, said Hardin, who is trying to obtain any video footage that might show Bennett entering the field.

  Bennett's representatives are hoping the case will be dismissed before the start of the regular season, Pelissero reported. If the case moves forward, a trial likely wouldn't take place until after the season ends, but there's a chance it could take place during the season.

  The Philadelphia Eagles defensive end has yet to enter a plea on the charge, but Hardin told reporters in March his client would plea not guilty if the case moved to trial.

  Bennett was indicted by a Texas grand jury in March on one count of felony abuse for allegedly injuring an elderly NRG Stadium worker after Super Bowl LI in Houston.

  The Harris County District Attorney's Office accuses Bennett of injuring a 66-year-old paraplegic woman who was working to control access to the field during the game. Prosecutors claim Bennett, 32, injured the victim after he pushed his way onto the field after being told to use another entrance for field access.

  Bennett denies ever touching the woman.

  "He didn't do this," Hardin told Pelissero in March. "He never touched anybody. And it is so totally contrary to his entire life and career."

  The specific charge Bennett is facing -- injury to the elderly -- includes intentionally and knowingly causing bodily injury to a person 65 years or older. It carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

  Bennett, who was a member of the Seattle Seahawks at the time of the incident, was at the Super Bowl, in part, to watch his brother, Martellus Bennett, who was playing for the Patriots. The three-time Pro Bowler was traded to the Eagles two weeks before being indicted.

  The 10-year veteran could be subject to potential NFL discipline under the league's personal conduct policy.

  The Eagles open training camp July 25. Philly opens the preseason Aug. 9 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

• NJ.com - https://www.nj.com/eagles/index.ssf/2018/05/eagles_michael_bennett_locker_room_fit_national_anthem.html

  Will Michael Bennett fit in Eagles locker room? Stories from those who know him best
  Posted May 24, 2018 at 08:49 AM | Updated May 24, 2018 at 11:27 AM
  Comment
  Michael Bennett
  Elaine Thompson
  By Zack Rosenblatt | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

  PHILADELPHIA -- Chris Long arrived at his NovaCare Complex locker on Tuesday with a sea of reporters waiting to ask him about the Eagles' upcoming White House visit.

  The crowd dispersed as it became clear Long wouldn't be speaking, at least not this time. He stared straight ahead, changed out of his practice gear and calmly skirted out of the locker room, nary a question asked.

  Long carried himself with a level of calmness, unconcerned with those surrounding him on his way out the door. To be fair, this was before the storm.

  Not the one that arrived on Wednesday, when the NFL dropped a controversial new policy about national anthem protests. Long wasn't happy with it.

  The locker space to Long's left was inhabited on Day 1 of OTAs. It's supposed to belong to Michael Bennett, but he's not here right now.

  When Bennett (eventually) arrives ... that's the storm. It follows him. The Eagles acquired Bennett in a trade with the Seahawks in March and he was one of only two players to miss Tuesday's first OTA practice, but the workout was voluntary anyway, and Bennett has a history of staying home this time of the year.

  In fact, Bennett has been to the NovaCare Complex only twice since being acquired — for his introductory press conference, and then to start the team's off-season program — though the Eagles aren't particularly concerned. Bennett, 32, is a veteran and three-time Pro Bowler.

  This has always been his philosophy, anyway.

  “I stopped going to OTAs to spend more time with my family because I’ve seen him doing it,” said Cliff Avril, Bennett's close friend and former Seahawks teammate. “It makes more sense. You’re thinking football, football, football, but this, family, is what’s important in life and he helped me put things in perspective."

  The Eagles made a number of transactions this off-season, but none will come with the same level of intrigue, or scrutiny, as the decision to bring Bennett into the fold.

  On-field, Bennett, 32, remains one of the league's best — and most charismatic — pass rushers at defensive end, getting 23.5 sacks and nearly 200 total quarterback pressures the last three years, per Pro Football Focus. He has his own sack celebration, too.

  Lately, Bennett has caught more attention for off-the-field pursuits. He's a pronounced social activist and humanitarian and, most recently, a co-author to his memoirs, titled "Things That Make White People Uncomfortable," co-authored with Dave Zirin. The book is a New York Times best seller.

  Bennett notably chose to sit down during the national anthem at games last season as an act of protest for racial inequality and police brutality. If he does that in 2018, he might be fined.

  That might not stop him, though he has not addressed the issue publicly yet. On Thursday morning, President Donald Trump said players who protest the anthem "shouldn't be in the country." That's more incendiary than Trump's original claim, that they should be fired.

  Bennett hasn't spoken publicly at all since his Eagles introductory press conference on March 19.

  The more important date: March 26, the day he turned himself in to Houston authorities, facing a felony charge of injury to the elderly. He pled not guilty, paid a $10,000 bond and returned to his home in Hawaii.

  In September, Bennett told Avril that his lawyer told him “some lady is trying to sue me because of something that happened during the Super Bowl, something about him bumping into her,” Avril recalled. “He said, ‘I think she’s trying to get money or something.' … He had no idea what she talking about.

  “He didn’t think it was serious.”

  When u love your bro so much you celebrate him and his accomplishments all love

  A post shared by Michael Bennett (@mosesbread72) on Feb 5, 2017 at 10:10pm PST

  The 2017 Super Bowl in Houston was something of a Homecoming for the Bennett family.

  Both Michael and his big brother, Martellus, starred at Houston’s Alief Taylor High School before attending Texas A&M and embarking on equally successful NFL careers. By now, the story of the Bennett brothers — for all their quirks, eccentricities and outspoken nature — is well-told.

  In 2017, Martellus, a tight end, was playing for the New England Patriots, who were set to take on the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI at Reliant Stadium. Bennett’s Seahawks had already been eliminated, but he was happy to return to H-Town to support his brother.

  “I don’t consider the possibility of him not winning,” Bennett said at the time. “My mindset is that he’s going to be a champion. I already bought 100 bottles of champagne.”

  After a miraculous Patriots comeback victory at that game in February, Martellus was a Super Bowl champion, like his brother, and Bennett stormed the field with his family to celebrate. He took pictures with his brother and dropped in on an NFL Network interview.

  Somewhere in between the moment when Bennett left his seats and arrived on the field, somebody allegedly shoved a 66-year-old paraplegic woman named Barbara Tatman, as well as two other NRG Stadium employees. Tatman and other witnesses interviewed by the Houston Police Department claim it was Bennett, who they say pushed his way onto the field with improper credentials and injured Tatman’s shoulder.

  The Super Bowl was on Feb. 5, 2017. Bennett was indicted on March 23, 2018.

  That’s 13 months.

  Houston police chief Art Acevedo held a press conference on the day of Bennett’s indictment to broadcast the details of the alleged incident, and used it as an opportunity to attack Bennett’s character, calling him “morally bankrupt.”

  Even though there appear to be some glaring holes in the indictment — including a lack of video or photo evidence of the incident — Bennett might as well have been guilty in the court of public opinion. He had just been acquired by the Eagles on March 7, and some were already calling for his release.

  It’s been nearly two months, and Bennett’s court hearing has already been delayed twice, first from April 23 to May 18, again recently to June 27, as the defense waits for the state to "provide promised discovery," his lawyer told NJ Advance Media. The Eagles expect him to report to camp for mandatory OTAs beginning June 12.

  Bennett will fill that locker next to Chris Long soon. But how will he fit into that room? Onto this team?

  Is he worth the distraction?

  Over the last month, NJ Advance Media has reached out some of the people who know Bennett best — including teammates (past and present), friends, his co-author and his lawyer — to find out exactly what sort of person the Eagles are bringing into the fold with Bennett.

  Here's some of what they had to say

  (Bennett's representatives to NJ Advance Media: "Michael isn’t doing any interviews right now.")
  Michael Bennett
  Elaine Thompson | AP
  'That's just who he is'

  Avril was down on the CenturyLink field, motionless. He couldn’t feel anything.

  It was Oct. 1, Week 4 of the NFL season, and Avril was down after attempting to make a tackle, diving at Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett. Avril’s neck snapped back when Brissett’s heel struck him in the chin.

  It was a neck injury, serious enough that Avril might never play again. He was cut by the Seahawks recently after failing a physical, and has since signed on to be the co-host of a radio show in Seattle.

  Seven months after suffering the injury, Avril doesn’t remember much about what happened, but he does remember hearing a voice. It got increasingly loud, and angry.

  It was Bennett, yelling at the nearby referees to get out of his way.

  “You don’t know him! I know his family! I know his wife! I know his kids!” Bennett shouted as he pushed toward Avril. “That’s my brother!”

  Eventually, Avril was carted off the field and taken to a hospital. At halftime, Seahawks trailing 15-13, Bennett couldn't care less about the second half.

  He ran to the locker room, pulled out his iPhone and called Avril via video chat as coaches outlined halftime adjustments in the background.

  “He’s like, ‘What’s going on, bro? What are they saying?’” Avril recalled. “That’s just the type of person he is.”

  He did it again, after the game, a 46-18 victory for the Seahawks. Avril could still hear Pete Carroll speaking in the background.

  The following morning, as Avril returned home, they chatted on the phone. Bennett was the first teammate to visit Avril. Even now, Bennett still checks in, constantly.

  “From Day 1, I saw that Mike … he talks to everybody,” Avril said. “He has great relationships with everybody in the locker room. I’m the complete opposite where I’m laid back and keep to myself. I’m observing him and it’s just like … this dude is different. He’s just different. But he genuinely cares for everybody that’s in that locker room and he knows everybody, he knows their family … That’s just the type of person he is.”

  Avril and Bennett arrived in Seattle together — and now they're leaving together, too. In March, this time, it was Avril checking in on Bennett.

  "He’s doing well. He’s hanging in there," Avril said. "I told him 'Bro, this is bigger than just football for us. These are the things you’re going to have to go through if we’re going to stand up for things that most people don’t want to talk about.'

  "I think he’s going to be all right."

  They call him 'Black Santa'

  Jesse Hagopian is a history teacher at Garfield High School in Seattle. He met Bennett at a rally for the "Black Lives Matter" movement.

  Dave Zirin is an author and a journalist. He met Bennett on stage, in front of hundreds of people, as part of a wide-ranging discussion about social injustice.

  Hagopian's rally took place in October 2016 as part of a movement Hagopian organized called “Black Lives Matter at Schools.” The movement had more than 3,000 Seattle-area teachers wearing BLM shirts while teaching lessons about institutional racism. Bennett showed up at the rally, unprompted, to support the cause. He made a speech to the crowd, did a Q&A and hung out with students.

  It was the middle of the NFL season.

  “It was so inspiring,” Hagopian said. “It was what you hope that folks that have that kind of platform and that kind of reach will do. If you’re somebody who is going to be disparaged by people in power, he’s going to show up by your side and put you up on the platform with him."

  Zirin, a sports editor for The Nation, was set to make a speech at a town hall in Seattle when Hagopian asked if he’d rather just interview Bennett on stage instead.

  So, in front of a packed crowd — the event had to be moved to a larger auditorium to accommodate — Zirin and Bennett spoke for more than 90 minutes on a panel that was titled "The Collision: Sports and Politics in the U.S." where Zirin and Bennett discussed, among many topics, racism, anthem protests and the NFL's handling of sexual assault.

  This was in January 2016, just days before a Seahawks playoff game.

  Nevertheless, Bennett even took part in a Q&A session at the end and eventually unveiled the plan to release a book. He had the title: “Things That Make White People Uncomfortable.” It was inspired by NBA legend Bill Russell, who once said, per Zirin: "Well, we’re really not going to see any changes in this country unless white people are uncomfortable with how things are."

  He only had the title, though, and the concept. He needed a co-writer. He found Zirin.

  Soon after, Bennett flew Zirin out to Hawaii on a get-to-know-you trip.

  “It’s so funny because I think for a lot of young writers it’s like, you think about: OK, an NFL player wants to hang out with you, you have this idea in your head of something that’s ... something wild,” Zirin said. “Hanging out with Michael Bennett was hanging out with his kids and doing community service. I don’t want to sound like I’m his PR person, but that’s just what he does during the day.”

  Not quite Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. More like "Black Santa."

  Bennett often spent Friday nights at the local detention center, where he helped to develop a program teaching the kids how to garden and grow their own food. He campaigned to add an ethics studies course at Hagopian's school, which allowed Hagopian to teach about black history and other socially relevant topics.

  Beyond that, Bennett donated the money from of his 2017 endorsements to organizations fighting to rebuild communities of color and empower women of color. Bennett and his wife hosted a benefit for the family of an unarmed, pregnant Seattle woman who was shot and killed by two white police officers after she called the police to report a burglary in her home.

  While in Hawaii, Bennett took Zirin to a low income housing project for Micronesians. Bennett donates money to a program to give residents access to science and technology. He watched Bennett greet every kid, conduct a science experiment and call Richard Sherman on his iPad.

  “That’s hanging out with Michael Bennett,” Zirin said. “He’s someone whose idea of a good time is helping other people.”

  Bennett hasn't been able to participate in a planned promotional tour for the book, but it's become a best seller anyway.

  "There’s a part of the book that’s called On Fear," Zirin said. "Michael talks about what he’s scared of. He says what he’s scared of, above anything else, his No. 1 fear … My No. 1 fear is of drowning and mice. Michael’s No. 1 fear is being misunderstood, about having people assume things about him that aren’t true ...

  "So you think about that, he wrote that a year ago, and you think about w

• GQ - https://www.gq.com/story/michael-bennett-opens-up-about-all-of-it

  NFL
  Michael Bennett Opens Up About All of It
  By Clay Skipper
  Photographs by Matt Martin
  2 days ago

  The NFL All-Pro and community activist would like to cut through the bullshit, please.

  Michael Bennett wants you to take him seriously. Not just seriously in the way that offenses take him, an imposing defensive end who made the Pro Bowl in each of his last three seasons playing for the Seattle Seahawks. (He was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason.) But seriously in the way we've struggled to take athletes in the past, trying in vain to maintain the increasingly shaky separation between the Church of Sports and the State of Politics. If that wall was already crumbling before Colin Kaepernick and Donald Trump, it lay in ruins after. Sticking to sports is no longer a thing. Nor should it be. And if athletics and activism have drawn ever closer, guys like Bennett are a big reason why. He has also—perhaps not so unexpectedly given that outspokenness—become something of a lightning rod.

  He was one of the more vocal and visible defenders of Kaepernick. He was detained outside a Las Vegas nightclub during what police believed to be an active shooting, an incident in which he says the cops used excessive force and racially profiled him (after an internal investigation, the Las Vegas Police Department disagreed with his claims). He was indicted in an alleged assault of a 66-year-old woman while cheering on his brother at Super Bowl LI in Houston (“He just flat-out didn’t do it,” his lawyer has said). And just this summer, he released a book—Things That Make White People Uncomfortable—calling for more empathy, compassion, and humanity among us all.

  In conversation, the 6-foot-4, 274-pounder speaks gently, making sure each word lands with its intended weight. Here, he sounds off on everything from childhood antics—breaking bunk beds and driving go-karts to Taco Bell—to whether or not a gay player might be accepted in an NFL locker room.

  GQ: There’s a story in the book about you and Martellus breaking your bunk beds. How'd that happen?
  Michael Bennett: We were too heavy, first of all. I don't know why we had bunk beds. We tried to ask my mom this question: "Why do you have two six-foot people on bunk beds? And why is Martellus, the heaviest, on top?" We loved WWF. We thought we were Owen Hart and Bret Hart, and Ultimate Warrior, jumping off the top rope. Then finally the bed just couldn't take it anymore.

  What age were you when it broke?
  Shamefully, thirteen.

  And you used to drive to Taco Bell in your go-kart? Did you get in trouble for that?
  We definitely got in trouble for that. My mom was like, "Why are y'all on the highway with a go-kart?" That go-kart was a sign of freedom for us—put 50 cents worth of gas and you can get a lot of places. So that go-kart was everything to me and my brother until: there was this old guy on the road, on his little bike track, and it was either run into this wall or run into this man. I chose to run into the wall and I broke the axle. I don't think my brother ever forgave me for that. That's how my parents found out that we were out on the highways with it.

  Were people on the highway looking at you like "Why are these boys driving a go-kart on the highway?"
  Everybody was looking at us. We didn't have blinkers so we were using our hands, signaling where we were going. Actually I think that was pretty dumb, now that I think about it. Like, seriously, Highway 6. And Highway 6 is a busy road.

  You have a line in there where you talk about how your mom made you ask "why" all the time. One of the questions you had for her was, "Why is there hate in this world?" When did you first become conscious of that?
  I think it was the James Byrd incident.* I think that's when I kinda realized: why do people hate people? That's when I started questioning: are we born evil and taught to be good? Why do people have so much hate for things that they don't understand? Why isn't there any compassion for people? I still don't understand it. I thought by 35 I would understand it, but the more and more that I live, the less and less that I understand it.

  *Ed Note: James Byrd, a black man, was murdered in 1998 by three white supremacists, who dragged him, still conscious, behind their truck for nearly three miles.

  If your daughters were to ask you those questions, how would you begin to try to explain it?
  I would try to tell them that the world lacks empathy and vision. But that you have a choice to value people for being people. I can't tell you why everybody does that, but at least that you have a choice to have empathy for people, to be compassionate, to change everybody's world that you're involved in. And if you can take care of you, one person, and you keep talking to other people and helping them change their perspective, I think you'll have a big reach. But ultimately, all I can really say is the world lacks empathy. We don't really care about things that don't directly affect us.

  What's the hardest part of raising three kids* right now?
  How do you raise a child in a world that lacks empathy and compassion? With the Instagram, and the self-gratification and the selfishness, how do you teach a person to be selfless when the world is selfish? People who have the most, give the least. Also, teaching them that they matter, in a world that shows them that they don't matter.

  *Ed Note: Bennett has three daughters, aged 11, 7, and 4.

  In the book you talk about how people just want you to play football and not really be yourself. How did you come to a place where you became confident in being yourself?
  I think I always had a sense of being myself. I grew up with a lot of people who if your breath stinks, they'd tell you your breath stinks. And I think the older you get, the less you start to care about the perception of what people think. In a world where everything is built on perception, you have to start slowly by pulling yourself off of it.

  How much of the noise do you hear?
  I don't think you can hear the noise, because there's so much noise. Three years ago, there was no noise. Four years ago, there was no noise. We won championships, we argued about coaches, we did all kinds of stuff, there was no noise. The noise only came when we started talking about political things. Before that it was just like, "These guys are joking." It wasn't 'til the world started to listen that it became a problem.

  "If I was to do something stupid like take a shit on the goddamn McDonald's porch, everybody'd be like, 'Can you come on our show and tell us why you took a shit?' It's almost like you gotta do something so stupid so people can listen to you."

  That's interesting, because I was rereading the Mina Kimes' story about you and your brother in ESPN, and it felt like that was a very different time and it was only two years ago. You guys were talking about other players in the league and having a little fun trash talking. Now, it feels like everywhere you go, people want to just be like, "What do you think about Kaepernick?"
  I say that all the time. It's like you almost get put in a box. I try to be like, "It's not always about those things." I love to joke, I love to be fun, but it seems like because you have a voice and people want you to speak on all these things, but sometimes I want to talk about the latest Dave Chappelle and stuff like that.

  Talking about Kaepernick does get old. Because that's where people want to keep it. Things have evolved since 2016. New things are happening, new people are moving, there's new young people who are doing things first. Not that there's discredit to the people in the past, but it's still people doing stuff that's relevant to now. And I do think a lot of times people try to keep you in a bubble like that.

  It also feels like back then you could joke and also be serious. And now it feels like if you're joking, people will use that as a way to undermine your seriousness, right?
  Exactly. The first thing when I sit down: "So what do you think about the new NFL policy?" I’m like, I just don't know what the fuck tell you. People say, "So would you go to the White House?" And I'm like, "Yeah, we'll go." And they're like, "Why? You love Trump." No, I don't love Trump. I love the opportunity to be able to change the world, to have dialogue with somebody. So it's like you are put into a box and that's the thing you got to be careful of.

  I do feel like brands, or TV shows—like the Today Show or Jimmy Fallon or Seth Meyers, all these other people—they bring people on there to talk about some bullshit a lot of the times. And here I am with a book that's talking about intersectionality, something that's super important to the world—it's not just about blacks, it's not just about whites, it's about all people—and they don't want to listen. But if I was to do something stupid like take a shit on the goddamn McDonald's porch, everybody'd be like, "Can you come on our show and tell us why you took a shit?" It's almost like you gotta do something so stupid so people can listen to you. It's sad, but that's the way the world is going.

  Why do you think that is?
  People don't want to respect you as an intellectual. If I was not playing football and I was an intellectual, then people would want to have a conversation with me. But because I'm all those things, people can't understand, like, "Why is he compassionate? How does he play football and still be a father to his daughters?" So it's hard for people to understand how certain people are when a group of people have been a certain way for a long period of time.

  The public's unwillingness to see you as intellectuals, how much of that do you think is rooted in a "dumb athlete" thing?
  Trying to get people to accept us as intellectuals, I think that's a far reach. But to get people just to recognize us as human, I think that's the first step that we need to do. Because as an athlete you're always dehumanized. Guys who have never even played football or played basketball or played baseball, they'll tell you how easy the other person's job is. "He's not injured, he could play through this." The person doesn't have any value. They're not like, "Hey, Joseph Smith is a father, husband. What if he does have a concussion? Should he skip? Because he might want to play with his daughter when he's 35." Nobody gives a fuck. It's like, “Why give a fuck? I don't know him personally. He needs to get his hundred yards so I can get my ten [fantasy] points and be cool.”

  Do you think it's worse in the NFL because it's such a violent sport, so it's sort of dehumanizing?
  I think it's worse in the NFL because there aren't guaranteed contracts so guys don't have the same voices like the NBA when the eighth person on the bench has a five-year, $75 million contract. It's like "I pulled my hamstring and I'm not playing for three weeks." You don't have that choice in the NFL. You have no choice but to do it, or they're going to find someone else to do it. So it's like they have so much more power and I think the fans realize that, and they're just like "Just move on. Next guy."

  I know you've been asked about it a ton, but I want to ask you about the Las Vegas incident.
  Yeah. I’m tired of talking about that.

  I don't want to rehash it. But we talked about the culture and the climate today, how things blow up. And it did sort of go viral. So I’m more curious what it was like for the first few days after that. Obviously, I imagine it was unbelievably personally traumatic—
  It was super traumatic. It was a form of PTSD. It was hard to sleep, it was so real. A lot of people don't connect to the black experience when it comes to that. Nobody connected to me as a human, nobody connected to me as a father or a son.

  How do you explain something like that to your daughters?
  It was an emotional thing for my daughter, because she was trying to understand. "What does that mean? I don't get it.” Trying to break down the world to your child, and basically tell her that Santa Claus isn't real or Christmas isn't real. There's a real world out there and you try to shield your kids from it, but sometimes you can't shield them from the truth.

  How did you explain it to her?
  Exactly like that, over dinner. Everybody was crying.

  How did she respond?
  She cried. First thing she sees is her father. She just sees a person who cares about her that could be taken away. For her, that's a lot. I think for her it's like, "Why? My dad does so much for everybody." Or, "My family does so much for the community." That was her thought process. "We could work with kids, and work with people, and do all this stuff, and we still can be touched by that?"

  For her, it was the realization of something. I think it was almost like her eyes were awakened to the world. I wasn't ready for that to happen to her. I wanted to keep her a young, innocent adolescent for as long as I could.

  What's a way that the NFL could go about helping their players be seen as more human?
  I don't know. When somebody posts something wearing a jersey you might get 60,000 likes. If somebody posts something about their family it's like, “Move on.” People don't recognize those parts of people. They only associate them for being one thing, but everybody is multiple things. Why do athletes only get seen for one compartment of their life? When we take chances and risks to be human and share ourselves and our vulnerability, people shouldn't judge.

  That's the real reason why I think that a player hasn't came out as gay or something like that. Especially in the NFL, people see these players as a certain way and as soon as that person comes out they're gonna be like, "Well, he's weak." But people don't look at the strength that person has to share to the world who they are, how they had to hide it.

  But, why should we care about somebody's sexual orientation? As long as that person is a great teammate. We talked about Kaepernick. We see what happened to Kaepernick, but it's almost like what happened to Michael Sam? It just kind of went away. People weren't ready for it. As much as people say they say they were progressive, I don't feel like people were progressive enough. Everybody supported it for a day, but then it was like, nobody fought for him to survive in the NFL. But, I do think if people are allowed to be seen as human, people will take bigger steps to share themselves.

  How do you think a gay player would be received in the locker room?
  For me, personally, I don't think it would be an issue for me. I think a lot of guys don't care. At the same time, it’s like: Can he run the ball? We accept people for whatever they do. I accept people who have had police records. We accept all types of things that we feel are social norms, but the things that people disagree with it's like, why is this the one thing that we can't let go? There’s players who rape people and they're still in the NFL. I mean, they’ve been accused.

  To your point about not accepting that people are multiple things: someone like LeBron, I feel like he is a little bit more accepted as occupying different roles.
  It's not that he's accepted. He's forcing that. He's forcing you to accept him as a person. He's forcing you, because he's breaking down so many barriers that at some point you can't get away from him. Other than Michael Jordan, he was the only person who was getting equity in every single thing that he started to do.

  Jordan was never big into activism. How much of an obligation do you think people who do have a platform now have to speak out?
  For people to say that athletes are the ones who have to talk about things, I feel like it's unfair. I feel like we all have to talk about issues. If we all talk about it, that's when things change. If LeBron James brings up immigration, that's not gonna be the reason why it changes. If a football player brings up police brutality, that's not gonna be the reason why it changes. Until everybody comes together and says, "Hey, I want to make this change." That's when it starts to happen.

  How much would it help if Tom Brady started coming out and saying these things?
  Well, obviously if Tom Brady or anybody else of his status started to say anything—I feel like Aaron Rodgers was trying to articulate his message this year. He's walking in a place where it was uncomfortable, but he was still trying.

  How much of it is a status thing and how much is a race thing? Would it help a lot if white people players chimed in?
  Obviously. Yeah. Of course, but there's a lot of white players who are doing great things. They are breaking down barriers when talking about race and finding ways to talk about issues that are happening, but it takes a collective group of players as a team. Not just taking the field as a team for winning a championship, but taking the field together to change the world regardless of our color. I think it's important that we have the other players come in and talk about issues too.

  This interview has been edited and condensed.

Bennett, Michael: THINGS THAT MAKE WHITE PEOPLE UNCOMFORTABLE
Kirkus Reviews. (Feb. 15, 2018):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Bennett, Michael THINGS THAT MAKE WHITE PEOPLE UNCOMFORTABLE Haymarket (Adult Nonfiction) $24.95 4, 3 ISBN: 978-1-60846-893-5

An outspoken activist athlete practically dares readers to think of professional football and its players in the same way again after finishing this book.

To say that Bennett, who co-authored this book with activist-minded Nation sports editor Zirin, has a chip on his shoulder would be an understatement. He was born to a teenage mother and raised by his father with his brother Martellus, also an outspoken pro football player. After the family split and he finished his college career at Texas A&M, he went undrafted by the NFL because he wasn't considered "coachable"--i.e., he thought too independently and spoke his mind. He calls the NCAA "a gangster operation, a shakedown, and a system that works for everyone but the so-called student-athletes." He notes how his brother has called the NFL "Niggas For Lease'--and that's the most brutally honest thing I've ever heard"--later, though, he engages in a nuanced analysis of that hateful epithet and its variations. He compares the dehumanizing flesh market of the NFL combine to "slave auctions," staunchly defends Colin Kaepernick as an athletic hero, and makes an impassioned defense for taking a knee or locking arms during the national anthem. In places, the book reads like the author is trying to be as provocative as possible, but he ultimately shows a commendable seriousness of purpose, providing a call to arms to other pro athletes to use their platforms for cultural responsibility and to fans to understand the human dimension of the NFL and the price paid for the on-field violence that serves as their entertainment. Bennett is particularly incisive on branding and on the conditional nature of fandom: "I'll be a football player for just a few more years," he writes, "but I'll be Black forever." He ends on a moving note of reconciliation, as he bridges the gulf with his birth mother and tries to get his father, stepmother, and brother to do the same.

A fiery memoir/manifesto by an athlete with his heart in the right place.

Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Bennett, Michael: THINGS THAT MAKE WHITE PEOPLE UNCOMFORTABLE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A527248271/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=f16fc633. Accessed 14 July 2018.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A527248271

Haymarket lands Super Bowl champ
Rachel Deahl
Publishers Weekly. 264.30 (July 24, 2017): p7.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
In a world rights agreement, Anthony Arnove at Haymarket Books bought Michael Bennett's Things That Make White People Uncomfortable. Bennett, a defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks-and a member of their Super Bowl--winning team in 2014--has gained notoriety off the field for his vocal support of women's rights and the Black Lives Matter movement. This book, which he's doing with sportswriter Dave Zirin, will be, Arnove said, "a sports memoir and manifesto as hilarious as it is revealing." Bennett was represented by his sports management company, Independent Sports & Entertainment, while Zirin did not use an agent in the deal. The book is slated for April 2018.

Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Deahl, Rachel. "Haymarket lands Super Bowl champ." Publishers Weekly, 24 July 2017, p. 7. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A500133656/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=332968c5. Accessed 14 July 2018.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A500133656

Eagles' Michael Bennett posts bond after turning himself in on felony charge of injury to the elderly
Cindy Boren
Washingtonpost.com. (Mar. 26, 2018):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 The Washington Post
Full Text:
Byline: Cindy Boren

Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Michael Bennett surrendered Monday to authorities in Houston on a charge that he injured a 66-year old paraplegic woman after the 2017 Super Bowl. A judge set his bond at $10,000 on a felony count of injury to the elderly, according to the Associated Press. Bennett posted bail at around 5 p.m. and was released, according to NJ.com. He will be able to travel to and from Houston to his home in Hawaii.

The charge stems from an incident at the 2017 Super Bowl in Houston, when Bennett's brother Martellus Bennett played for the New England Patriots. After the Patriots' victory over the Atlanta Falcons, Michael Bennett "shoved his way onto the field where players were gathering to celebrate," the Harris County district attorney's office said in a Friday news release announcing the grand jury indictment.

Stadium security personnel, including the woman who was working to control access to the field, told Bennett he needed to use a different entrance to get onto the field, according to prosecutors. "Instead, he pushed through them, including the elderly woman who was part of the security team," the release said.

Bennett, 32, was indicted on a charge of injury of the elderly, a felony charge that carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, according to the announcement.

Houston police Chief Art Acevedo said Bennett "forcibly opened locked doors" in the NRG Stadium tunnels, ignoring security and pushing several members of the security team. Acevedo also said Bennett told security: "Y'all must know who I am, and I can own this [expletive]. I'm going on the field whether you like it or not," according to the Houston Chronicle.

Acevedo, who called Bennett "morally bankrupt" in a news conference last week, said there is no video of the incident, which was allegedly seen by a police officer. Acevedo said the officer checked on the condition of the paraplegic woman rather than trying to detain Bennett. The woman was diagnosed with a back strain, according to Acevedo.

Rusty Hardin, the Houston defense attorney who has represented Roger Clemens and other high-profile clients and is now representing Bennett, called the chief's comments "over the top."

"I'm hopeful that when all the facts are out [Acevedo] would want to reconsider if he'd want to be that over the top with somebody who's just been charged with a crime and is presumed innocent," Hardin told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Hardin said on Monday that Bennett never touched the paraplegic security employee and repeated his criticism of Acevedo.

Earlier this month, Bennett was traded by the Seattle Seahawks to the Eagles, who said Friday they were "aware of the situation involving Michael Bennett and are in the process of gathering more information." Eagles executive Howie Roseman told reporters at the NFL's annual meetings on Monday that he didn't learn of the incident until Friday, but that Bennett is presumed innocent until proven otherwise.

A star with the Seahawks, Bennett has become one of the NFL's most outspoken players on political issues and social injustice, figuring prominently in last season's pregame player national anthem demonstrations. His first book, "Things That Make White People Uncomfortable," is scheduled to be released April 3 and, according to promotional materials, touches on "police violence, the role of protest in history and his own responsibility as a role model to speak out."

The publisher, Haymarket books, issued a statement strongly supporting Bennett, which said the lineman "is being targeted for being a Black man who speaks out boldly against racism and police brutality," and that the chargers "are clearly an effort by his political opponents -- once again -- to silence him. We will not let them succeed."

Last summer, Bennett accused police in Las Vegas of racial profiling and excessive force after he was detained during an investigation of an active shooter at a casino after the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight. The Clark County sheriff later announced that no evidence of excessive force had been found, and that officers acted "appropriately and professionally" during the incident. Bennett was not arrested or charged.

Read more from The Post:

What's going on with Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Malcolm Butler? Don't ask Bill Belichick.

'Sometimes things get misunderstood': Texans owner Bob McNair defends Panthers' Jerry Richardson

The Redskins won't be bringing back pass rusher Junior Galette

Jets rescind 'pretty high' offer to free agent Ndamukong Suh

Doug Williams on Su'a Cravens: 'Right now, he's a Redskin,' but 'everybody is tradable'

Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Boren, Cindy. "Eagles' Michael Bennett posts bond after turning himself in on felony charge of injury to the elderly." Washingtonpost.com, 26 Mar. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A532371437/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=fc2d5123. Accessed 14 July 2018.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A532371437

Michael Bennett Appears in Court and His Lawyer Denies Charges
Benjamin Hoffman
The New York Times. (Mar. 27, 2018): Sports: pNA(L).
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 The New York Times Company
http://www.nytimes.com
Full Text:
Michael Bennett, the Pro Bowl defensive end who recently was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, surrendered to the authorities in Houston on Monday on a charge that he injured a woman in a wheelchair while trying to get onto the field after Super Bowl LI.

Mr. Bennett was a spectator at NRG Stadium in Houston for the game between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons on Feb. 5, 2017. The Harris County district attorney's office said that Mr. Bennett ignored instructions to go to a different field entrance and subsequently pushed past a group of security employees to try to congratulate his brother, Martellus, who had just won the game as a member of the Patriots. Prosecutors said the group of security personnel included a 66-year-old paraplegic woman who sustained injuries during the incident.

After Mr. Bennett's brief court appearance on Monday, a judge set his bond at $10,000 on a felony count of injury to the elderly. He was expected to post bail and be released.

Speaking to The Philadelphia Inquirer, Mr. Bennett's lawyer, Rusty Hardin, made it clear that his client denies the charge.

''He just flat-out didn't do it,'' Mr. Hardin said. ''It wasn't a case of, 'He didn't shove her that hard,' or anything like that. He never touched her.''

A nine-year N.F.L. veteran who won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks following the 2013 season, Mr. Bennett is one of the league's most outspoken players. Frequently a media darling along with his brother, Mr. Bennett is a published author and the head of a charitable foundation that fights childhood obesity. He has yet to personally comment on this episode, but Mr. Hardin said Mr. Bennett was one of several people in the Patriots' family section of the stadium trying to find his way onto the field and that it is unclear how the injured woman could know it was Mr. Bennett who injured her.

At the N.F.L. owners meetings in Orlando, Fla., Howie Roseman, the Eagles' executive vice president of football operations, told reporters that the team did not know about the accusations until Friday, nine days after the team officially acquired Bennett from the Seahawks via trade. Mr. Roesman said the team was not jumping to conclusions before all of the facts have been presented.

''In this country, people are presumed innocent,'' Mr. Roseman said. ''I think we have to be fair about that in all these matters. I don't think it's fair in any situation to not give people the right to present their side. I don't want to get into this, but our overriding philosophy on things are people are innocent until proven guilty.''

Mr. Roseman said the team conducted a background check on Mr. Bennett and that players they interviewed reported that he was well-liked and a good teammate.

Monday's court appearance came after an arrest warrant was issued on Friday following a grand jury electing to indict Mr. Bennett on the felony charge, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Hoffman, Benjamin. "Michael Bennett Appears in Court and His Lawyer Denies Charges." New York Times, 27 Mar. 2018, p. NA(L). General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A532346198/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=e5b4d5a8. Accessed 14 July 2018.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A532346198

Proving their point
Jarrett Bell
USA Today. (Sept. 7, 2017): Sports: p01C.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2017 USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/
Full Text:
Byline: Jarrett Bell, jbell@usatoday.com, USA TODAY Sports

I didn't need to see the video to believe Michael Bennett.

In a heartfelt letter posted on Twitter on Wednesday, the Seattle Seahawks' star defensive end revealed the details of a recent encounter with police in Las Vegas -- just harrowing stuff -- that is all too common for African-American males in America.

A police officer put a gun to Bennett's head, according to the football player I have no reason not to believe, and threatened to blow "my (expletive) head off." A second officer came over and "forcefully jammed his knee into my back," Bennett wrote, "making it difficult for me to breathe."

Disgusting.

Bennett was subjected to such apparent abuse amid the chaos that ensued with reports of a shooting on the Las Vegas strip in the aftermath of the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor fight Aug. 26.

It's a striking coincidence that of all the NFL players to find himself in such a predicament, it's Bennett, who has long been outspoken about racial issues and supportive of so many causes.

Truth is, it could have been just about any African-American NFL player -- or any African-American male from any walk of life -- regardless of status.

"The conversation isn't about this one particular incident, but coming to accept that there are prejudices," former NFL defensive back Domonique Foxworth, a senior writer for The Undefeated, told USA TODAY Sports. "That sounds super remedial, but that's the conversation we need to have."

In other words, the same types of conversations about race that have been relevant for generations still apply in 2017.

In a world of racial profiling, systematic inequalities and extreme prejudice by too many people who are sworn to serve and protect, such disrespectful treatment of people of color by law enforcement sometimes is a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Now Bennett, among a handful of players who have kept the spirit of Colin Kaepernick's protests alive in the NFL by refusing to stand for the national anthem, is alleging police misconduct as he weighs a potential lawsuit for the violation of his civil rights. After being detained, he ultimately was released.

Of course, there were no charges.

It's a good thing it wasn't any worse, that Bennett wasn't injured or killed by some nervous, biased officer who might justify cruel actions by contending he feared for his life -- which we've heard as a defense repeatedly in explaining what happened to unarmed victims.

Yet unfortunately, Bennett's episode illustrates exactly why Kaepernick -- fed up with police killings of unarmed African-American men -- launched his protest.

Too many people have twisted the reason for the national anthem protests, interpreting them as a slight to the American flag or the military. It was always about police brutality, systematic injustice and oppression.

As Bennett expressed in his one-word intro to the post of his letter on Twitter: "Equality."

On a video released by TMZ that showed only a portion of the episode, Bennett can be seen and heard pleading with the officer as he is being handcuffed -- while the officer rudely barks. At one point, Bennett even calls the officer "sir."

"Don't try to remediate your civil rights until later," civil rights attorney John Burris, whom Bennett has retained, told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday. "Not on the street. You'd be killed."

It's a shame that Burris has to be so blunt.

Then again, contrast the Bennett video with the police dash-cam video that surfaced recently showing a Cobb County, Ga., officer, Lt. Greg Abbott, comforting a nervous white woman who had been pulled over and expressed her fear. "But you're not black. Remember, we only kill black people," Abbott said.

In the wake of the furor, Abbott retired -- with full benefits.

A Las Vegas police undersheriff, meanwhile, said there was "no evidence race played any role in this incident." But the officer who apprehended Bennett did not have his body camera on.

"What happened with Michael is a classic illustration of the reality of inequalities that are demonstrated daily," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said in a statement Wednesday.

Bennett has a strong mind, but even with that, there is emotional distress. In his letter, he wrote about the fears of losing his life and leaving his wife and two daughters without him.

Green Bay Packers tight end Martellus Bennett wrote on Instagram about the disturbing phone call he received from his brother after the incident and how it left him "in one of the saddest places ever."

There are undoubtedly many people in this nation who can't relate to what Bennett experienced, because they choose not to understand, are naive to the extent that they can't believe it or have some other factors shaping their world views.

Carroll said he hopes the incident inspires people to respond with compassion.

"We can do better," he said.

We should do better. And not just because a high-profile football player was subjected to such apparent abuse.

CAPTION(S):

photo Joe Nicholson, USA TODAY Sports

Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Bell, Jarrett. "Proving their point." USA Today, 7 Sept. 2017, p. 01C. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A503812732/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=accfc4af. Accessed 14 July 2018.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A503812732

UNIFORMED ACTS OF DEFIANCE: BOOKS ON ATHLETE ACTIVISM KICK OFF A NEW SEASON
Pete Croatto
Publishers Weekly. 265.14 (Apr. 2, 2018): p31+.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
During the 2016 NFL season, when then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem to protest police brutality, he joined a roster of athletes who have come to symbolize the intersection of sports and activism: Jackie Robinson, who agreed to turn the other cheek when confronted with racist insults and threats of violence, and U.S. sprinters John Carlos and Tommie Smith, who bowed their heads and raised their fists on the medalists' podium at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

The Nation sports correspondent Dave Zirin, who has a book on Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown coming out this spring and is founder of the Edge of Sports imprint at Akashic Books, calls sports "an unbelievably effective ideological Trojan horse." Books on the subject needn't stick to the playing field, he says; instead, they can tackle hardships in the world at large.

Linda Ganster, editorial director at Rowman & Littlefield and Rowman & Littlefield International, says that sports books naturally reflect what's going on in m society. As LGBTQ athletes and athletes f of color continue to capture public attention, she says, their stories will reflect a "different set of triumphs and tragedies."

Origin Stories

A good biography has value on its own, says Bob Bender, Simon & Schuster vice president and executive editor. "We're trying to find great stories out there that need to be told," he says, regardless of "what happens to be going on at any particular moment." In August, S&S is releasing Raymond Arsenault's Arthur Ashe, a biography of the pioneering tennis star, who died of AIDS-related pneumonia in 1993.

The book tracks his professional career--born in segregated Richmond, Va., in 1943, he was the first African-American to play for the U.S. Davis Cup team and won singles titles at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and the Australian Open before retiring in 1980. He was also an outspoken champion of civil rights and, in his final years, an AIDS activist. Such stories matter, Bender says, because they're "inspirational and instructive to us today."

Lakers great Elgin Baylor also faced racial discrimination: he sat out a game in Charleston, W.Va., during his rookie season in 1959, after he was refused a hotel room there. His protest turned into a national story and prompted an apology from the town's mayor. Baylor's memoir, Hang Time (HMH, Apr.), written with Alan Eisenstock (Sports Talk), covers his 40 years in professional basketball, including his support of the threatened player boycott of the 1964 NBA All-Star Game, which secured better working conditions for athletes in the league.

In Jim Brown: Last Man Standing (Blue Rider, May), Zirin looks at Brown's glory days with the Cleveland Browns but also examines his complex legacy far from the gridiron: civil rights activism and work with Los Angeles gangs, accusations of violence against women, and public support of Richard Nixon and Donald Trump. PW's review called the book "the definitive biography of Brown."

Zirin's Edge of Sports imprint at Akashic is publishing Tigerbelle (Sept.), a memoir from two-time Olympic gold medalist sprinter Wyomia Tyus. The daughter of a tenant farmer in rural Georgia, she won top honors at the 1964 and 1968 Olympics. In the book, coauthored by Elizabeth Terzakis, she recalls her turbulent path to the top and her struggle to find recognition afterward.

Artie Wilson, by contrast, never quite made it to the top. He was a star shortstop in the Negro Leagues and in 1949 became the first African-American player for the minor league Oakland Oaks. Two years later the New York Giants called him up, but after just 24 at bats, Wilson convinced the team to bring up his former teammate Willie Mays in his place. The Giants sent Wilson back to Oakland.

Former newspaper sportswriter Gaylon H. White (The Bilko Athletic Club) profiles Wilson in Singles and Smiles (Rowman & Littlefield, Apr.). R&L's Ganster says readers identify with this kind of "unknown, unsung hero story," because Wilson--who played in the minors for another decade--maintained a high level of play and cheerful demeanor under the specter of what might have been.

A New Awareness

Howard Bryant, a columnist for ESPN the Magazine, says in the modern era, sporting events are patriotic spectacles, complete with military flyovers and police processions. In such a climate, athletes have no choice but to make their voices heard. "How can you tell someone to stick to sports when there's an F-15 jet flying over their head?" he asks.

In The Heritage (Beacon, May), Bryant discusses the changing role of African-American athletes in an increasingly politicized sports world. He notes that many athletes see commonalities between themselves and the private citizens participating in Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, and other social movements. "When it becomes that personal, the players realize, 'I'm not protected by my millions, because I grew up here. I'm still connected to all of these people,' " Bryant says. And that's when they get involved in increasingly vocal ways.

One such athlete is Michael Bennett of the Philadelphia Eagles, whom the Root called "one of the most outspoken and progressive voices in the NFL." In Things That Make White People Uncomfortable (Haymarket, Apr.), which Zirin coauthored, Bennett offers his thoughts on topics including racism and police violence.

"We have to fight the numbness," Bennett writes in the book. "People turn on the TV and see another Black person murdered, and they're like, 'What are the Kardashians doing?' We all need to say, 'This shit needs to change.'"

Serena Williams has also spoken out against police brutality and other issues over the course of her two decades in the public eye. In Serena Williams: Tennis Champion, Sports Legend, and Cultural Heroine (Rowman & Littlefield, Nov.), sports journalist Merlisa Lawrence Corbett looks at the 23-time Grand Slam singles winner's career as an athlete, business woman, and celebrity, and also at the impact she's had on discussions of racism, feminism, misogyny, sports marketing, and the status of female athletes.

Superstars like Williams push the boundaries of what's possible in sports. The essay collection Upon Further Review (Twelve, May), edited by Slate's Mike Pesca, goes further, posing a series of hypothetical sports scenarios. PW's review calls the collection an "enlightening and entertaining" book that "gives sports fans much food for thought."

In "What If Football Were Reinvented Today," for instance, former NFL player Nate Jackson wonders how the game might take into account "players whose minds and bodies have been broken by playing this game." Journalist Mary Pilon, in "What If ... Title IX Never Was," imagines how U.S. sports would suffer without mandated, if imperfect, equal opportunities for women.

Personal trainer Sarah Hays Coomer draws a direct connection between women's activism and athleticism in Physical Disobedience (Seal, Aug.), explaining why taking care of one's body is a first step toward abolishing gender inequality.

The book, says Stephanie Knapp, senior editor at Seal Press, also serves as a reminder that anyone can be an activist. "We're always told to shrink our bodies, to critique them, to squish them into something," she says. "And to really say, 'I'm going to reject that idea and I'm going to truly take care of my body': that's what makes it a place of activism."

Proud (Hachette, July) is the memoir of Muslim American fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, the first woman to wear a hi jab while competing for the U.S. in the Olympics. The book, written with journalist Lori Tharps, details the bigotry and financial hardship Muhammad faced on her way to winning the bronze in the team sabre competition in the 2016 Olympics.

"Everyone loves a champion," says Krishan Trotman, senior editor at Hachette. As Proud and other forthcoming sports titles show, "it doesn't have to be a white male football player to show power and leadership."

THEIR BEST PEOPLE

Immigration and the refugee crisis remain hot-button topics, and new books show how these issues affect the wide world of sports.

At age 15, Yusra Mardini fled war-torn Syria. A year later, she was a member of the first Refugee Olympic Athletes Team at the 2016 Summer Olympics. In Butterfly (St. Martin's, May), Mardini, a lifelong swimmer, writes of saving fellow refugees from drowning on an overcrowded dinghy bound for Greece. Once settled at a refugee camp in Berlin, she ramped up her training and achieved her goal of swimming at the Olympics.

Immigrant stories have long been integral to professional sports, too. Luis Tiant, a star pitcher for the Boston Red Sox in the 1970s, first developed his talents in Cuba. In Son of Havana (Diversion, Feb. 2019), written with Miracle at Fenway author Saul Wisnia, Tiant recounts his 18-year MLB career, and his return to Cuba after decades away to help thaw the frosty relationship between the United States and his home country.

Felipe Alou arrived in the U.S. from the Dominican Republic in 1956, the first Dominican to play Major League Baseball, paving the way for numerous others, including two of his brothers and his son Moises. He was an All-Star player and later a successful manager, winning 1994's National League Manager of the Year. The baseball lifer tells his story in Alou (Univ. of Nebraska, Apr.), written with journalist Peter Kerasotis.

The tiny Polynesian island of Samoa is the homeland of a healthy roster of skilled NFL players, including rising star Marcus Mariota and former All-Pro Troy Polamalu. Tropic of Football (New Press, July), by University of Pittsburgh historian Rob Ruck, details the historical factors and warrior self-image that help Samoans succeed on the gridiron but also make them especially vulnerable to concussions and other brain injuries.

Professional basketball is indisputably a global game. In addition to stars such as Giannis Antetokounmpo (Greece), Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), and Tony Parker (France), the NBA boasts a vast worldwide audience--the 2017 finals were covered by 265 journalists from 35 countries.

A single country--South Sudan--has had a major impact on the hoops scene in Omaha, Neb., which is home to what's thought to be the largest Sudanese population outside of Africa. In Citizen Akoy (Univ. of Nebraska, Feb. 2019), journalist Steve Marantz profiles Akoy Agau, who fled war-torn Sudan with his family as a child and whose later prowess on the court helped turn Omaha into a recruiting hot spot for college coaches. Marantz examines how basketball helped merge two cultures in the heartland, and his book joins a roster of titles that show how immigrants get the job done.--P.C.

COURAGE IS CONTAGIOUS

PW Talks with Dave Zirin

Journalist Dave Zirin has made his career at the juncture where athletics meets activism. He's the sports correspondent at the Nation, he launched the Edge of Sports imprint at Akashic Books, and he's written and coauthored multiple titles that delve into the political side of sports. Zirin spoke with PW about why athletes, activism, and book publishing make such good teammates.

You've been writing about sports and activism since the early 2000s. Do you think the current moment is a particularly fruitful one for books on this subject?

Oh, absolutely. We have content right now precisely because athletes have been involved in movements, whether we're talking about #MeToo or Black Lives Matter. Athletes are a part of this, and that lends itself to really good sports-writing, and that lends itself to books.

Howard Bryant, who's one of the most astute writers we have, sports or otherwise, has a book coming out called The Heritage [Beacon, May], about the black athlete and the politics of patriotism. I think that book is going to land in a big way. And Colin Kaepernick is working on his own book right now.

How much of the uptick in books on activism in sports is thanks to Colin Kaepernick?

You could argue that this wave of athlete activism started after the killing of Trayvon Martin and the Miami Heat posing in their hoodies [in 2012]. Or the summer before Colin Kaepernick, in 2016, you had players in the WNBA, the Minnesota Lynx and other teams, who were protesting. But when Kaepernick does it, now you're talking about the NFL and the most popular sport in the United States. When this blew up, you had people wanting to speak about it in a way that goes beyond social media and blog posts. It's shaping an entire season of sports books.

Do you think these books will reach the people who most need to read them, or are they just preaching to the choir?

People who don't want to read a book about racism might, for example, read a book by an athlete who's speaking about racism, like Michael Bennett. His book is called Things That Make White People Uncomfortable [Haymarket], which is almost a dare for people to pick it up who may be offended by it. And that's the goal: to get people who would be put off by that title to pick it up and say, "Let's see how uncomfortable this makes me or not."

Michael approached me about doing the book, not vice versa. He wanted to get his thoughts about everything that was happening, and the role of the athlete, on the page. [Zirin was Bennett's cowriter.]

Have you heard from other athletes who are interested in writing books?

There certainly are a lot of folks who, because of Colin Kaepernick and this generation of athletes, now want to tell their stories. The response that he's gotten is making other people confident. A lot of folks, particularly older athletes who found themselves drummed out of their sports, are saying, "Hey, my story matters. I didn't sacrifice my career for nothing." Courage is contagious.--P.C.

OUT OF BOUNDS

Forthcoming titles show why sports, scandal, and corruption go together like sex, drugs, and rock and roll.

* Big Game

Mark Leibovich. Penguin Press, Sept. A lifelong New England Patriots fan, Leibovich, the New York Times Magazine chief national correspondent, tried for years to profile quarterback Tom Brady, and in 2014, Brady finally agreed. The timing was fortuitous: the "Deflategate" controversy was on the horizon, as was another Super Bowl win, and that was just for starters. Leibovich's profile assignment initiated a four-year plunge into the NFL that encompassed not just the Patriots but the entire league, at a time of major revenue growth, growing anxiety over the game's physical toll, widespread player protests, and more.

* Cocaine + Surfing

Chas Smith. Rare Bird, June Combining travelogue, reportage, history, and memoir, surf journalist Smith (Welcome to Paradise, Now Go to Hell) examines the sport's love affair with cocaine. In the 1980s, surfing matured into a mainstream, image-conscious business, and the drug of choice switched from weed and alcohol to the white powder that defined the greed-is-good decade.

* Creating the Big Ten

Winton U. Solberg. Univ. of Illinois, Apr. The Big Ten is big business: in 2016 the collegiate sports conference struck a six-year media deal worth $2.64 billion. Solberg goes back to the beginning--a meeting among a handful of universities in 1895 that aimed to regulate intercollegiate sports--and follows the next 50 years of clashes between academic faculty and the coaches, university presidents, and others whose priorities strayed beyond the classroom.

* Football for a Buck

Jeff Pearlman. HMH, Sept. The United States Football League, the NFL's springtime rival, lasted only three years, from 1983 to 1986. Pearlman (Gunslinger) interviewed nearly 500 people to capture the USFL's brief but eventful history, which featured big-name talent (Steve Young, Herschel Walker), hooker raids, and a franchise owner named Donald Trump, who, Pearlman writes, ultimately destroyed a promising idea.

* Greed and Glory

Sean Deveney. Skyhorse, May Fun City author Deveney profiles New York politics and sports during the 1980s, an era of flashy personalities and gaudy success. Mets pitching phenom Dwight Gooden and Giants defensive terror Lawrence Taylor were gods on the field, painfully mortal off it, and irresistible fodder for news outlets. Meanwhile homelessness, AIDS, and organized crime bubbled under the city's gilded surface.

* Red Card

Ken Bensinger. S&S, June Pubbing in time for the 2018 World Cup, Buzzfeed reporter Bensinger's book breaks down the FIFA scandal--one of the biggest international corruption cases ever--which involved rampant bribery, vote selling, and kickbacks. The probe into soccer's international governing body, driven by relentless U.S. investigators, implicated nearly every aspect of the world's most popular sport, including the World Cup, which will be held this summer in Russia.

Pete Croatto lives in Ithaca, N. Y., and is working on his first book, with Atria.

Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Croatto, Pete. "UNIFORMED ACTS OF DEFIANCE: BOOKS ON ATHLETE ACTIVISM KICK OFF A NEW SEASON." Publishers Weekly, 2 Apr. 2018, p. 31+. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A533555576/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=431e6494. Accessed 14 July 2018.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A533555576

Bennett, Michael & Dave Zirin. Things That Make White People Uncomfortable
Michael C. Miller
Xpress Reviews. (May 11, 2018):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Library Journals, LLC
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/reviews/xpress/884170-289/xpress_reviews-first_look_at_new.html.csp
Full Text:
Bennett, Michael & Dave Zirin. Things That Make White People Uncomfortable. Haymarket. Apr. 2018. 268p. illus. ISBN 9781608468935. $24.95; ebk. ISBN 9781608468942. SOC SCI

NFL defensive lineman Bennett, formerly with the Seattle Seahawks and now with the Philadelphia Eagles, is one of a growing number of black professional athletes, particularly football players, using their status as a platform to speak out against racial injustice in America. Bennett, perhaps one of the more vocal activist athletes today, tells his personal story as a means of explanation of why he speaks out, why he sits for the national anthem, and why sports figures, especially black athletes, need to be active against injustice. For Bennett, more than just Black Lives Matter, it's a larger cultural issue that is affecting all people and can only be remedied when all recognize and stand against it. It is in the intersections of these issues--whether racial, gender, political or economic--that opportunities to make progress at solving them are created, but only if people are willing to be comfortable in their discomfort.

Verdict Bennett brings a unique, honest, and often humorous voice to the growing discussion of black activism in sports. Recommended for those wanting to understand more about the role of sports in shaping current events. Bennett's recent legal issues will likely bring more attention to the book and potentially create greater demand, something for public libraries to consider.--Michael C. Miller, Austin P.L. & Austin History Ctr., TX

Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
Miller, Michael C. "Bennett, Michael & Dave Zirin. Things That Make White People Uncomfortable." Xpress Reviews, 11 May 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A538858784/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=0f7b471b. Accessed 14 July 2018.

Gale Document Number: GALE|A538858784

"Bennett, Michael: THINGS THAT MAKE WHITE PEOPLE UNCOMFORTABLE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A527248271/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=f16fc633. Accessed 14 July 2018. Deahl, Rachel. "Haymarket lands Super Bowl champ." Publishers Weekly, 24 July 2017, p. 7. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A500133656/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=332968c5. Accessed 14 July 2018. Boren, Cindy. "Eagles' Michael Bennett posts bond after turning himself in on felony charge of injury to the elderly." Washingtonpost.com, 26 Mar. 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A532371437/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=fc2d5123. Accessed 14 July 2018. Hoffman, Benjamin. "Michael Bennett Appears in Court and His Lawyer Denies Charges." New York Times, 27 Mar. 2018, p. NA(L). General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A532346198/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=e5b4d5a8. Accessed 14 July 2018. Bell, Jarrett. "Proving their point." USA Today, 7 Sept. 2017, p. 01C. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A503812732/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=accfc4af. Accessed 14 July 2018. Croatto, Pete. "UNIFORMED ACTS OF DEFIANCE: BOOKS ON ATHLETE ACTIVISM KICK OFF A NEW SEASON." Publishers Weekly, 2 Apr. 2018, p. 31+. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A533555576/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=431e6494. Accessed 14 July 2018. Miller, Michael C. "Bennett, Michael & Dave Zirin. Things That Make White People Uncomfortable." Xpress Reviews, 11 May 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A538858784/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=0f7b471b. Accessed 14 July 2018.

• Common Dreams
  https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/04/04/things-make-white-people-uncomfortable-michael-bennetts-essential-new-book
  Word count: 1512

  ublished on
  Wednesday, April 04, 2018
  by
  Common Dreams
  "Things That Make White People Uncomfortable": Michael Bennett's Essential New Book

  "Why does the world even have to be like this?"
  by
  Jesse Hagopian
  0 Comments
  "Uncomfortable will teach you that if you have truth on your mind, you can go ahead and just say it, unfiltered." (Photo: Michael Bennet/Twitter)

  "Uncomfortable will teach you that if you have truth on your mind, you can go ahead and just say it, unfiltered." (Photo: Michael Bennet/Twitter)

  Today, my good friend Michael Bennett, former Seattle Seahawk and current Philadelphia Eagle, releases his new book, "Things That Make White People Uncomfortable"—the memoir/manifesto that he wrote with my other dear friend Dave Zirin.

  I am going to assume my position as a teacher here and officially assign you homework: read this book! Take notes. Report back on it to your community. Then take action. It is indispensable for anyone who wants to understand why so many players today are refusing to just shut up and play and are creating the new national pastime of protest and play. But this book is much more than just an expository essay about the new Black athlete.

  This is one of those rare books you read that will change the way you understand yourself and your place in the world. Only a few books have had that kind of impact on me. Books like "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" and "Angela Davis: An Autobiography." Uncomfortable has me feeling like a kid again, remembering how those amazing autobiographies turned me upside down and inside out.

  “Whether I die tomorrow or in sixty years, if the only things about me that people talk about are the Pro Bowls and the Super Bowl appearances, I will have failed. I want my legacy to be what I did in the community and the positive changes this work might have created in people’s lives.”

  These have been the rare books where the authors have fully exposed their souls to the world, and in that vulnerability allowed me to confront my own deepest fears. These have been the books that helped me to see that I’m not alone, that others have suffered from racism, oppression, isolation, feelings of inadequacy, and have turned that pain into a powerful force for good in the world. I too have felt the anxiety that Michael describes that comes from confronting power—and seeing that it’s okay to talk about it publicly was liberating. He writes, “It’s harder than they warned you: the anxiety will scratch at your insides like the creature in Alien, except it never bursts out of your chest, it just stays there, scratching.”

  Uncomfortable, like the great autobiographies of Malcolm and Angela, has helped me understand the meaning of dedication. Michael writes, “The more success you have, the more you hear a voice suggesting sweetly and seductively to rest on those laurels and just skip it or dog it, go half-assed. That voice asks you, ‘Why are you working that hard? You got it!’ But to be great, you have to continuously put yourself in the mind-set where you don’t got it. You have to think about the times you were hungry, you were struggling, you were a kid being pushed around.” And Michael takes this attitude both into the gym and around the organizing table: “Whether I die tomorrow or in sixty years, if the only things about me that people talk about are the Pro Bowls and the Super Bowl appearances, I will have failed. I want my legacy to be what I did in the community and the positive changes this work might have created in people’s lives.”

  Michael is just as committed to the struggles for women’s empowerment, Palestinian rights, LGBTQ rights, and human rights—and he applies the framework of intersectionality to understand how multiple oppressions can overlap to create deep and complex forms of injustice.

  I can tell you from having worked closely with Michael over the past couple of years, he has walked this talk over and over again. I have been with Michael as he sat with youth listening to their perspectives on the movement for Black lives and their perspectives of what needed to change. I have seen him support the Black Lives Matter at School movement. I have seen him speak at the Locker Room Talk forum at my high school where he took on the responsibility of athletes to speak out against sexual harassment, relationship abuse, and violence against women. I have seen him give a young student activist the Black Education Matters award. I have seen him sit down with the family of Charleena Lyles, a pregnant Black mother of four who was killed by Seattle police, and organize a rally and benefit for her family. I was there when Michael brought the Freedom School program to the Seahawks training camp and exchange ideas about the struggle for equitable education.

  True, Michael has been one of the most visible leaders in this massive upheaval of athletes around the country who have protested for racial justice during the national anthem. But what you will learn about in this book is that Michael is just as committed to the struggles for women’s empowerment, Palestinian rights, LGBTQ rights, and human rights—and he applies the framework of intersectionality to understand how multiple oppressions can overlap to create deep and complex forms of injustice: “Intersectionality clicked for me when I thought about Charleena Lyles. She was killed because of racism, no doubt, but her life as a Black woman—not just a Black person—is critical to understanding her death. Charleena had suffered sexual assault and violence, and she called the police in the first place because she was worried that an abusive former lover was coming back to hurt her.”

  thingsthatmakewhitepeopleuncomfortable-c

  Uncomfortable will teach you that if you have truth on your mind, you can go ahead and just say it, unfiltered: “Being born black is a preexisting condition in this society, with a set of stressors that you can’t understand without living in our skin. It’s not just the fear that you’ll be the next James Byrd or Trayvon Martin or Sandra Bland. It’s hearing dumb shit in school about America being the land of the free and having to speak up to remind my teacher of slavery and seeing all the faces change expression, from getting red with anger to others rolling their eyes, with looks of relief on the faces of people who had been thinking the same thing. I felt like Kevin in The Wonder Years, if Kevin had been Black and had to face an ass-whooping every day for trying to tell the truth.”

  Uncomfortable will teach you that we can talk openly about the many forms of trauma we face. Writing in a chapter about the unpaid labor of student athletes and the NCAA racket, Michael writes, “I think PTSD in players also results from a loss of identity. Little by little we conform to what our coach wants, what the program wants, what the academic advisor wants us to study so we stay on the field and bit by bit, chip by chip, we lose the foundation of where we are. We get stuck in a character. Then it’s all over, and the PTSD becomes a sports version of postpartum depression.”

  And it will teach you that it’s okay to laugh out loud as we fight hard for justice: “Part of the mythology of sports is people think it breaks down barriers and makes us more equal. That’s miseducation…It’s going to be people realizing that we’re all human: everyone takes a shit and everybody pisses. Some of us sit, some of us stand up, some of us have colostomy bags, but other than that, we do it it exactly the same way.”

  Finally, "Things That Make White People Uncomfortable" will teach you that it’s okay to ask the biggest questions about how our world is organized. Michael writes about his trip to Haiti with his Haitian teammate Cliff Avril and says, “it reminded me of being young and asking my mother, “Why?” As in, Why does the world even have to be like this? If you don’t ask why you’ll never be attacked or criticized. No one is going to go after you or your family. But if you don’t ask why, nothing not a damn thing, is ever going to change.”

  Whether you are a football star, or a teacher, or a student, or locked up, we can all ask the questions that cause discomfort—and also produce the change that is so desperately needed.

• Vista Today
  https://vista.today/2018/05/book-review-things-that-make-white-people-uncomfotable/
  Word count: 336

  Book Review: Things That Make White People Uncomfortable by Eagles’ Defensive End Michael Bennett
  Book Review: Things That Make White People Uncomfortable by Eagles’ Defensive End Michael Bennett

  Michael Bennett
  Posted By: Jason HamillPosted date: May 22, 2018

  One of the largest debates of our times is social equality. Michael Bennett, a recent super bowl winner, says in his recent memoir Things That Make White People Uncomfortable, that “The only thing that’s going to make us equal isn’t sports. It’s going to be people realizing we’re all human.”

  Many disagree with professional athletes inserting themselves into the political debate in the United States, however, Michael Bennett didn’t falter under that pressure. As a Seattle Seahawk, he took a knee during the National Anthem to protest systemic inequalities.

  He is currently fighting charges which stem from his rushing through a crowd to congratulate his brother Martellus after his Patriot’s Super Bowl win. During the melee, Bennett is accused of injuring an elderly woman for which he is facing assault charges.

  Bennett begins his memoir by looking at his time as a College athlete. He describes his time as an undergrad at Texas A&M and how racism was a key tenant of his college experience. He describes himself as “Half God, half property” during his time in college.

  Once stuck with a one-game suspension for leaving the campus to visit his daughter on her birthday, Bennett examines the many restrictions college athletes face in playing for colleges.

  As Bennett puts it, the most important thing that makes white people uncomfortable is the current conversation showing in full light systemic racism that has touched many of these sports stars. In Things That Make White People Uncomfortable, he urges white athletes and fans to help in the debate: “Don’t feel guilty, do something to make it better. Help us heal by standing – or sitting – alongside us.”

• NY Times
  https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/16/books/review/michael-bennett-things-that-make-white-people-uncomfortable.html
  Word count: 976

  Nonfiction
  I’m a Pro Football Player Now, but I’ll Be Black Forever
  Image
  Michael BennettCreditBrad Puet

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  By Justin Tinsley

  May 16, 2018

  THINGS THAT MAKE WHITE PEOPLE UNCOMFORTABLE
  By Michael Bennett and Dave Zirin
  220 pp. Haymarket Books. $24.95.

  Part of the mythology of sports, according to Michael Bennett, the Super Bowl champion defensive end, is that sports make society more equal. “That’s miseducation,” he writes in “Things That Make White People Uncomfortable.” “The only thing that’s going to make us equal isn’t sports. It’s going to be people realizing we’re all human.”

  One of the raging debates of our times centers on social justice — and, in particular, the political views of athletes in the age of President Trump. Near its epicenter is Bennett, now a Philadelphia Eagle, who as a Seattle Seahawk sat during the national anthem last season to protest systemic inequalities. He is now fighting assault charges after being accused, unjustly he argues, of injuring an elderly woman while rushing through the crowd after last year’s Super Bowl to congratulate his twin brother, Martellus, on the Patriots’ win.

  Bennett’s worldview and understanding of race has been intensified by experiences like these. Wasting few words and fewer emotions in this memoir (written with Dave Zirin, sports editor of The Nation), he starts by examining the brutal realities of both collegiate and professional football.
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  The former Texas A&M Aggie includes poignant descriptions of his undergraduate years, noting that racism was at the center of his college experience. He also explains how post-traumatic stress disorder triggered in high school and college can follow athletes long after the stadium crowds stop roaring. As an Aggie, Bennett explains, he was “half god, half property,” subject to so many restrictions that he was socked with a one-game suspension for leaving campus to attend his 2-year-old daughter’s birthday party. Bennett still resents going undrafted in 2009, the result, he believes, of his inability to live by the advice given to athletes: “Stick to sports.”

  Asking the N.F.L. “to lead on social issues sometimes seems like asking a dog to meow,” he remarks early on. But he’s also found football’s brotherhood invaluable, forming bonds with his former coach Pete Carroll, as well as Russell Wilson, Marshawn Lynch, Cliff Avril, Justin Britt, Albert Haynesworth and the late Cortez Kennedy. At the same time, the physical toll football has taken isn’t an inheritance he wishes to pass along. If he were to have a son, Bennett says, he wouldn’t let him take up football. The fear of dying while playing is very real, something Bennett carries onto the field each Sunday — not necessarily because he’s afraid of death but because he’s aware of the crater such a loss would leave in the lives of his three daughters and his wife, Pele, whom he credits with helping form his compassionate worldview.

  Activism is important to Bennett. It’s why he’s involved in eliminating food deserts in black communities. It’s why the death of Charleena Lyles, shot by the Seattle police after she called to report an attempted burglary, tied him to the Black Lives Matter movement. It’s why he’s uncomfortable merely calling himself a feminist, deciding to act on his beliefs by helping provide science, technology, engineering and math programs to young women of color. It’s why he’s adamant about taking inspiration from the June 1967 meeting of pro athlete social activists that’s come to be known as the Ali Summit. And it’s why Colin Kaepernick, still in exile from the N.F.L., has his lifelong support. The conversation Kaepernick’s actions helped ignite, Bennett believes, was more valuable than any of his own paychecks.

  That conversation — illuminating systemic racism — is the most important “thing” that makes white people uncomfortable, as his title has it. An admirer of Malcolm X, Angela Davis, Muhammad Ali and many others, Bennett is an agent of change. Faced with apathy from white athletes and fans, he urges them to take action. “Don’t feel guilty,” he writes. “Do something to make it better. Help us heal by standing — or sitting — alongside us.”

  By the conclusion of his book, Bennett has delved into all the hot-button issues his title suggests. “I’ll be a football player for just a few more years,” he points out, “but I’ll be black forever. When I’m driving with my family down the street in a nice car in a nice neighborhood and the police see us, they don’t see Michael Bennett the college graduate, the husband or the loving father. … They immediately see a black man who could possibly be dangerous.”

  This book is the necessary prelude to the serious work of Bennett’s life, which will take place once he’s done with football. “If you don’t ask why, you’ll never be attacked or criticized. No one is going to go after you or your family,” he declares. “But if you don’t ask why, nothing, not a damn thing, is ever going to change.”

  Justin Tinsley is a sports and culture reporter with ESPN’s “The Undefeated.”

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  A version of this article appears in print on , on Page 9 of the Sunday Book Review with the headline: Sit Down, Don’t Shut Up.

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