Meghan Dhawan
Professor Young
English 1101
September 19, 2017
Michael Bennett "Do the Right Thing"
On August 26, 2017, American football player Michael Bennett, defensive end for the Seattle Seahawks of the National football League, went to Las Vegas to attend the Mayweather-McGregor wrestling match. After the fight concluded, Bennett went to return to his hotel when he heard the sound of gunshots. When he attempted to flee the situation, police showed up and targeted Bennett by pointing their guns at him. The police then forcefully restrained Bennett, assuming he was an accomplice of one or more of the shooters, and held Bennett down as he pleaded for mercy. Bennett tried to beg to the officers, explaining his innocence as best as could, all while they kept a tight grip on him.
"I kept asking the officers "What did I do?" and reminding them that I had rights they were duty bound to respect. All I could think of was 'I'm going to die for no other reason than I am black and my skin color is somehow a threat.' My life flashed before my eyes as I thought of my girls. Would I ever play with them again? Or watch them have kids? Or be able to kiss my wife and tell her I love her (Bennett SBNATION)?"
Michael Bennett faced injustice for a crime he did not commit and was unjustly assaulted and almost injured from police officers who looked like they were only "doing their job". Bennett in turn believes highly that the best course of action would be to sue the police officers who hurt him.
With authority, you are expected to give respect, who are held to a higher degree and are seen as model figures of society. However, it is only formfitting that because of this, everyone has their place in society, and should be treated just as equally as authority figures. With respect becoming a less important factor in basic human connection, people around the world need to know that everyone deserves to be respected, but are also required to have Freedom of Speech held to a certain degree. In a situation like Bennett's, the police should have examined what was going on from the start and found the other people who actually started shooting. The police also could have identified Bennett before making assumptions that he was a menacing figure and handcuffing him on the spot. The world around us is quickly being engulfed in incidents like this everyday, and it is becoming more and more apparent. I believe that Bennett did the right thing when trying to speak for himself and eventually come to the conclusion that the police should be sued for their false accusations against Bennett. Personally, I am opposed to using the opportunity to sue as a means of "taking the easy way out" to clear one's name and save one's reputation, all while having the 50/50 chance of earning money for taking the step. In this case, however, I believe Bennett's course of actions is justified here and that the police should issue a public apology to Bennett for making racist assumptions against his character. Cancelling out the factor that he is a famous football player, as a grown man in society who just had this entire incident filmed on camera, Bennett seems like the type of person who wants to spread a more positive message to society, by telling the world that one should not feel like their skin color should be a defining feature of where they are placed in society. With the issue of police attacks on innocent black people becoming more prevalent in the world today, the police force needs to understand their place as authority figures in society, and the degree they are held to. People like Michael Bennett need to show the world that one should speak up as their course of action if they are put in these situations, even if it means disrespecting authority figures.
