Wrong type of hero.
Via MRC:
Michael Bennett is no longer a Seattle Seahawks pass rusher (he’s been traded to Philadelphia), but social justice warriors in the Emerald City still revere him as the inventor of the athlete activist role and a new kind of hero. Seattle’s NPR station KUOW was the perfect progressive forum for an interview that local teacher and SJW Jesse Hagopian conducted with Bennett in a Town Hall last month.
During the interview, Hagopian mentions a social justice group named Athletes for Impact (A4I) because Bennett is literally the face of the organization. The group was formed in 2016 “to provide a platform for athlete activism” on the issues of Black Lives Matter, police violence, the economy, LGBTQ and equal rights, climate change, education, immigration and mass incarceration.
When asked about the NFL’s new policy calling for players to respect the national anthem or stay in the clubhouse, Bennett took off on a rant only an SJW can appreciate:
“It’s really about community and that’s what we’re trying to do within the context of the NFL policy … To try and make sure the NFL represents all the people that love their team, you know, the brown people need a voice, the women need a voice, the Asian people need a voice, the black people need a voice, everybody needs a voice when it comes to this, and we also owe it to if kids don’t have books in their school … We should step up and make sure that all kids in Seattle eat.”
Bennett’s idea of activism transcends what football fans want to see on Sundays:
“You run that ball and be quiet. The fans are thinking ‘I had a long-ass week and need to see the Seahawks have a win.’ … I have great athletes ahead of me like Harry Edwards, Craig Hodges, John Carlos, Muhammad Ali. And LeBron James has everything to lose but still speaks on social issues. … We can’t be silent about issues … . We are really supposed to speak out for those that don’t have a voice … .”
During the Q&A, an unknown speaker told Bennett, “You have reinvented the role of an activist athlete. It’s a whole new idea of heroism.”