A blind army veteran is at the center of a burgeoning legal fight between the Seattle Seahawks and his wife&#8217;s campaign for U.S. Senate.
The Seattle Seahawks issued a cease-and-desist letter to Washington state Republican Senate candidate Tiffany Smiley, over the inclusion of what looks like a team jersey in one of her ads. But the Seahawks previously honored Smiley&#8217;s husband, former U.S. Army Major Scotty Smiley, for his service. The decision is part of a larger legal battle that appears to be brewing between the Tiffany Smiley campaign and <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/wa-senate-candidate-tiffany-smiley-criticizes-seattle-times-starbucks-seahawks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">several Seattle institutions</a>.
&#8220;It has been brought to our attention that the Smiley for Washington campaign is making commercial use of trademarks and/or copyrights belonging to [the Seahawks] in connection with its “Game Day” television ad,&#8221; the team wrote in its <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wsJhuftgMYWFbhBpZDCQOSig-rXRIYTz/view" target="_blank" rel="noopener">letter</a> to the Smiley campaign.
&#8220;Absent an agreement with the National Football League (“NFL”) or the Seahawks, third parties are prohibited from using Seahawks Trademarks in any manner that may suggest that it is in any way endorsed by, or otherwise affiliated with, the NFL or the Seahawks. Given that the Smiley for Washington campaign has no such agreement with the NFL or the Seahawks, we must ask that it immediately cease its unauthorized commercial use of Seahawks Trademarks&#8230; It is our hope to resolve this matter quickly and amicably.&#8221;
In the ad, Smiley is discussing the impact of inflation on her family&#8217;s grocery bills on football Sundays. The ad cuts to her husband for less than two seconds; in the original cut of the ad, he could be seen wearing a dark blue jersey with neon green stripes and what looks like an NFL shield. But it is not immediately clear that the jersey is a Seahawks jersey. The Smiley campaign published an <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7st-x0xWHw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">updated version</a> of the ad in which all distinct markings are removed, and Scotty Smiley is wearing a plain blue jersey.
Seattle-based radio talk show host Ari Hoffman called out the Seahawks over the move, pointing out that in 2014, the team honored him as part of their &#8220;Salute to Service&#8221; initiative. &#8220;Hey @Seahawks. You guys honored Scott Smiley in 2014,&#8221; Hoffman <a href="https://twitter.com/thehoffather/status/1576415146289041408?s=20&amp;t=3mQtmrhJuKX8f81adaV9sQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tweeted</a>. &#8220;Now you&#8217;re mad about him wearing a Seahawks jersey in a campaign ad because his wife is running as a Republican for Senate. How about you guys focus on football instead of politics? You got enough trouble winning these days.&#8221;
Hoffman also shared pictures of Smiley at the Seahawks&#8217; stadium in his army uniform, then ripping open his shirt to reveal a Seahawks jersey underneath. Hoffman questioned whether that jersey was the one he wore in the ad, and whether the team gave him the jersey.
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I wonder if this is the same jersey from the ad. It&#39;s hard to tell in the ad because you just see part of the top of his shoulders, which demonstrates exactly why these copyright claims are bogus. 
I am also curious if the Seahawks gave him the jersey <a href="https://t.co/aGlfqqGr7d">pic.twitter.com/aGlfqqGr7d</a>
&mdash; Ari Hoffman (@thehoffather) <a href="https://twitter.com/thehoffather/status/1576449101918765056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Seattle-area journalist Brandi Kruse said on Twitter that they had, and also pointed out that while they sent Smiley a cease-and-desist notice, they did not level similar notices against a Democrat running for re-election to the Washington State Legislature. &#8220;Hey @Seahawks: You sent a cease and desist letter to the @SmileyForWA (R) camp because her hero husband who was blinded serving our country wore the jersey YOU gave him for TWO seconds in a campaign ad,&#8221; Kruse wrote. &#8220;You said it could suggest an endorsement.&#8221;
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🧵 Hey <a href="https://twitter.com/Seahawks?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Seahawks</a>: You sent a cease and desist letter to the <a href="https://twitter.com/SmileyForWA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SmileyForWA</a> (R) camp because her hero husband who was blinded serving our country wore the jersey YOU gave him for TWO seconds in a campaign ad. You said it could suggest an endorsement. <a href="https://t.co/HWjSSsr4J4">pic.twitter.com/HWjSSsr4J4</a>
&mdash; Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandiKruse/status/1576267324667330561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
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So how do you explain this from a Democratic candidate’s campaign page?&#8221; Kruse added, sharing screenshots of Democratic State Representative Tarra Simmons spending the day with the team promoting her &#8220;work to advance racial and social justice,&#8221; in an explicit campaign message on Facebook. &#8220;@TarraSimmons5 has done AWESOME things with her life — but so has the Smiley family. Are you a football team or a political organization?&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
So how do you explain this from a Democratic candidate’s campaign page? <a href="https://twitter.com/TarraSimmons5?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TarraSimmons5</a> has done AWESOME things with her life — but so has the Smiley family. 
Are you a football team or a political organization? <a href="https://t.co/ChJdd7RegA">pic.twitter.com/ChJdd7RegA</a>
&mdash; Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandiKruse/status/1576267332623953920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;The @Seahawks have every right to protect their brand – but do they apply their own rules evenly?&#8221; Kruse <a href="https://twitter.com/BrandiKruse/status/1576268212559192065" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a>.
<a href="https://hopeunseen.com/about/">Scotty Smiley</a> was deployed to Iraq in 2005, when a suicide bomber detonated a car bomb; shrapnel entered his eyes, permanently blinding him. He continued to serve until 2015, the first blind active-duty officer in military history.
Tiffany Smiley is locked in a tight Senate race against incumbent Democrat Patty Murray. A recent poll from the <a href="https://www.thetrafalgargroup.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/WA-General-Poll-Report-0926.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trafalgar Group</a> found the Smiley trails Murray by just 2 points.

Seattle Seahawks helmet

GOP Senate Candidate’s Blind Army Vet Husband At Center Of Legal Fight Between Her Campaign And The Seattle Seahawks

Seattle Seahawks Issues Cease-And-Desist Against WA GOP Senate Candidate. The Team Previously Honored Her Veteran Husband 

2022 Midterms

Republican

Seattle Seahawks

U.S. Senate

Veterans

Washington

It&#8217;s been quite the day around the NFL. 
First, Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers agreed to continue their relationship, now the Seattle Seahawks are reportedly trading quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos. 
As reported by Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Seahawks and Broncos have agreed to a deal that will send Wilson to Denver, pending a physical and Wilson’s approval of the trade. 
“Blockbuster: After weeks of negotiations, in one of the largest trades in NFL history, the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos have agreed to terms for a deal involving Super-Bowl winning QB Russell Wilson, sources tell ESPN,” Schefter posted to Twitter. “Trade is pending a physical and Wilson’s approval.”
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Blockbuster: After weeks of negotiations, in one of the largest trades in NFL history, the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos have agreed to terms for a deal involving Super-Bowl winning QB Russell Wilson, sources tell ESPN.
Trade is pending a physical and Wilson’s approval. <a href="https://t.co/oRFDV8Ehyx">pic.twitter.com/oRFDV8Ehyx</a>
&mdash; Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1501266969944858630?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 8, 2022</a></blockquote>
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It’s one of the biggest trades in NFL history — at least in recent history — and immediately makes the Broncos a contender in a loaded AFC West. <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1501276050336014340?s=20&amp;t=OHAt_uiMtGCpcLrmySeSSw">According</a> to Schefter, the Broncos will receive Wilson and a fourth-round draft pick, in exchange for two first-round, two second-round, and a fifth-round draft pick, along with quarterback Drew Lock, tight end Noah Fant, and defensive lineman Shelby Harris. 
The trade ends a 10-year run in Seattle for Wilson, a run that resulted in the Seahawks&#8217; first Super Bowl victory. Wilson has appeared in two Super Bowls and went 104-53-1 as the starting quarterback of the Seahawks. Wilson has thrown for 37,059 yards, 292 touchdowns and 87 interceptions in his career. 
In February of last year, Wilson’s agent <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1365007710496948239?s=20&amp;t=xr_25bC9NpmrbMbOO5exwg">told</a> ESPN that while Wilson was not demanding a trade, if a trade were to occur, the New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders, and Chicago Bears were the only teams he would agree to leave Seattle for.
Last week, Seattle head coach Pete Carroll told reporters that the organization had “no intention” of trading Wilson. 
&#8220;At this time of year, there&#8217;s conversations about everybody, and it&#8217;s commonplace for us to have conversations with teams about all of the players, particularly marquee players,&#8221; Carroll <a href="https://www.nfl.com/news/seahawks-head-coach-pete-carroll-we-have-no-intention-of-trading-russell-wilson">said</a> when asked if Seattle has engaged in trade talks regarding Wilson, per NFL Network &#8220;That&#8217;s not changed. It&#8217;s been the same every year. It&#8217;s the same.&#8221;
&#8220;We have no intention of making any move there,” Carroll continued. “But the conversations, [general manager] John [Schneider] has to field those, he always has. But nothing specific.&#8221;
In other NFL news, the Los Angeles Chargers and wide receiver Mike Williams have agreed to a multiyear year deal worth a reported $60 million. 
Per Schefter, the deal is for three years with $40 million in guaranteed money. 
“Chargers and WR Mike Williams reached agreement on a three-year, $60 million deal that includes $40 million guaranteed and $28 million in year one, source tells ESPN,” Schefter <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1501268191267508227?s=20&amp;t=4Q9Wy7WiWXD4YypAqZGnjw">reported</a> on Twitter. 
RELATED: Report: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/report-aaron-rodgers-returning-to-green-bay-agrees-to-massive-contract">Aaron Rodgers Returning To Green Bay; Disputes Reports About Massive Contract</a>
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to sports@dailywire.com.

New England Patriots v Seattle Seahawks

Report: Russell Wilson To Denver Broncos In Blockbuster Trade

Denver

On Saturday, Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, speaking on a conference call with reporters, <a href="https://www.seahawks.com/video/seahawks-saturday-night-more-than-football">pontificated</a> that “white people” &#8220;need to be educated,” that “rich white guys making money … put together a system of slavery, and we&#8217;ve never left it,” that “this is a white people&#8217;s issue to get over and learn what&#8217;s going on and to figure it out,&#8221; and that &#8220;we&#8217;ve been taught a false history of what happened in this country.&#8221;
Carroll began his tirade by stating:
<blockquote>As we’re speaking about all that’s going on, and this is about racism in America, white people don’t know. They don’t know enough. And they need to be coached up and they need to be educated about what the heck is going on in the world. Black people can&#8217;t scream anymore, they can&#8217;t march anymore, they can&#8217;t bare their souls anymore to what they&#8217;ve lived with for hundreds of years because white guys came over from Europe and started a new country with a great idea and great ideals and wrote down great writings and laws and all of that about democracy and freedom and equality for all. And then that&#8217;s not what happened, because we went down this other road here and followed economics – rich white guys making money – and they put together a system of slavery, and we&#8217;ve never left it, really. It’s never gone away.</blockquote>
“The really amazing thing that I’ve learned is that black people know the truth, they know exactly what&#8217;s going on,” Carroll continued. “ It&#8217;s white people that don&#8217;t know. It&#8217;s not that they&#8217;re not telling us; they&#8217;ve been telling us the stories. We know what&#8217;s right and what&#8217;s wrong, we just have not been open to listen to it. We&#8217;ve been unwilling to accept the real history. We&#8217;ve been taught a false history of what happened in this country; we&#8217;ve been basing things on false premises, and it has not been about equality for all; it has not been about freedom for all; it has not been opportunity for all, and it needs to be. Because this is a humanity issue we&#8217;re dealing with. This is a white people&#8217;s issue to get over and learn what&#8217;s going on and to figure it out and start loving everybody that is part of our country, and that want to come to our country, wherever they want to come from.”
“Our players are screaming at us, ‘Can you feel me? Can you see me? Can you hear me?’” Carroll said. “White children and families want to be. It&#8217;s no different because we&#8217;re all the same. There&#8217;s a lot of people who don&#8217;t see it that way, but there&#8217;s a lot of people that do, and I&#8217;m hoping that from this point forward, maybe there&#8217;s a new door to open for us, and we can walk through it together with the thought of doing what&#8217;s right. What&#8217;s right is treating people equally, we know that. Forefathers knew it. They wrote it all down; they just didn&#8217;t do it. They got caught up in making money and they figured out a way to do it, and it meant persecuting and abusing an entire race of people.”

Divisional Round – Seattle Seahawks v Green Bay Packers

Seahawks’ Pete Carroll: ‘White People’ ‘Need To Be Educated’ About Racism

Racism

On Thursday, it was reported that the NFL&#8217;s Seattle Seahawks canceled a workout for former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick because he refused to stop kneeling for the national anthem:
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After arranging for Colin Kaepernick to work out for the Seahawks this week, Seattle postponed the trip when the quarterback declined to stop kneeling during the national anthem next season, league sources tell ESPN.
More ahead on NFL Live now.
&#8212; Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/984483763882283009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
Seventeen minutes later, that report was mildly disputed:
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The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Seahawks?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Seahawks</a> did postpone a tentatively scheduled workout with Colin Kaepernick, as <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AdamSchefter</a> reported. It was not because he said he declined to stop kneeling, tho. The team asked for his plan moving forward on how to handle everything and there was not a firm plan.
&#8212; Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapSheet/status/984488035411689475?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
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Still, common to both tweets is the idea that Kaeprnick&#8217;s kneeling for the anthem may be the salient reason why some teams have no desire to hire him.
This made some journalists very angry indeed:
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You mean it wasn&#8217;t just a football decision? ::clutches imaginary pearls:: <a href="https://t.co/9XuBfT8so0">https://t.co/9XuBfT8so0</a>
&#8212; Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) <a href="https://twitter.com/jemelehill/status/984485764321853440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Just to recap today&#8217;s NFL news 
*Colin Kaepernick won&#8217;t say if he&#8217;ll kneel next season, so Seahawaks cancel his tryout 
*Linebacker Reuben Foster charged with 3 felonies for allegedly punching his girlfriend in the head 8-10 times, and 49ers keep him on the team
&#8212; Mike Rosenberg (@ByRosenberg) <a href="https://twitter.com/ByRosenberg/status/984492288670748672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
this is true, and reveals that, for many teams, the (cowardly) avoidance of kaepernick isn&#8217;t about kneeling, or any sort of principle&#8211;it&#8217;s about fear of blowback <a href="https://t.co/JvgKJbSVfB">https://t.co/JvgKJbSVfB</a>
&#8212; Mina Kimes (@minakimes) <a href="https://twitter.com/minakimes/status/984487225801850880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 12, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>
As was <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/newyork/news/2017/10/24/nfl-concedes-that-national-anthem-protests-hurt.html">reported last October</a>, the NFL admitted that the controversy over kneeling for the national anthem caused it to lose business. CNS News reported in late September:
<blockquote>
Operators of two of the largest U.S. ticket marketplaces say they are seeing declines in orders for NFL games amid festering <a data-invalid-url-rewritten-http href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/national-anthem-long-history-protests-sporting-events/">controversy over the national anthem</a>. NFL ticket sales at TickPick slumped 17.9 percent this week compared with the prior week, their steepest decline since 2014, while sales at TicketCity plunged 31 percent. For pro football games in September, ticket sales at TicketCity are down 16 percent from a year ago.
</blockquote>

Report: NFL’s Seahawks Cancel Kaepernick Workout Over His National Anthem Kneeling

Colin Kaepernick

In a viral social media post this week, Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett accused Las Vegas police officers of having arrested him and used excessive force &#8220;for doing nothing more than being a black man at the wrong place at the wrong time.&#8221; But in a press conference Wednesday, Las Vegas police said there is absolutely &#8220;no evidence&#8221; of racial profiling and provided several details left out of Bennett&#8217;s account that significantly change the story.
Here&#8217;s how Bennett, who is one of the NFL players who has protested the national anthem, framed his account that he posted on Twitter:
<blockquote>
On Saturday, August 26, 2016, I was in Las Vegas to attend the Mayweather-McGregor fight on my day off. After the fight while heading back to my hotel several hundred people heard what sounded like gun shots. Like many of the people in the area I ran away from the sound, looking for safety. Las Vegas police officers singled me out and pointed their guns at me for doing nothing more than being a black man at the wrong place at the wrong time.
</blockquote>
The officers, claims Bennett, used excessive force, one officer allegedly telling him he&#8217;d &#8220;blow my f***ing head off&#8221; and &#8220;forcefully jamm[ing] his knee&#8221; into his back. &#8220;The Officers&#8217; excessive use of force was unbearable,&#8221; he wrote.
Bennett was handcuffed and led to the back of a police car. The officers soon released him after verifying his identity and determined he was not a threat.
At a press conference on Wednesday evening, a representative of Las Vegas law enforcement, Kevin McMahill, addressed Bennett&#8217;s incendiary accusations and provided more context for his temporary arrest.
&#8220;I can tell you as I stand here today, I see no evidence of [racial profiling]. I see no evidence that race played any role in this incident,&#8221; <a href="http://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/09/07/vegas-police-contest-seattle-seahawks-players-accusations-of-brutality-racial-profiling/">said</a> McMahill.
As the officers &#8212; who McMahill noted were Hispanic &#8212; moved toward the nightclub, they saw Bennett crouching behind a gaming machine. When he was fully in their view, he ran.
&#8220;As [officers] moved toward the nightclub, an individual later identified as Bennett was seen crouched down behind a gaming machine as the officers approached,&#8221; said McMahill. &#8220;Once Bennett was in the officer&#8217;s view, he quickly ran out the south doors, jumped over a wall onto Flamingo Road East of Las Vegas Boulevard into traffic.&#8221;
Bennett&#8217;s suspicious actions, not his race, is why he was detained, the officer explained. (The detail of Bennett running when the cops appeared also aligns with a report by <a href="http://www.dailywire.com/news/20729/report-seattle-seahawks-michael-bennett-ran-cops-james-barrett">TMZ Sports</a>.)
&#8220;Due to Bennett&#8217;s actions, and the information the officers had at the time, they believed that Bennett may have been involved in the shooting and they gave chase,&#8221; said McMahill. &#8220;Bennett was placed in handcuffs and detained while officers determined whether or not he was involved in the incident.&#8221;
&#8220;Mr. Bennett, at the scene, had the incident explained to him by a supervisor and he said that he understood and that he had no problem with what the officers did,&#8221; added McMahill.
The one detail from Bennett&#8217;s account that the department is still investigating, said McMahill, is if the officer actually made the threat that the athlete claims he did. &#8203;
Despite there being &#8220;no evidence&#8221; that he was targeted for being black, rather than because he was running from the scene, as would seems obvious, Bennett declares in his statement that the &#8220;system failed me&#8221; and said what he experienced is exactly why he is protesting the United States:
<blockquote>
I have always held the strong conviction that protesting or just standing up for justice is simply the right thing to do. This fact is unequivocally, without question why before every game I sit during the national anthem &#8230; because equality doesn&#8217;t live in this country and no matter how much money you make, what job title you have, or how much you give, when you are seen as a &#8220;n*****,&#8221; you will be treated that way.
The system failed me. I can only imagine what Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, and Charleena Lyles felt.
</blockquote>
Bennett ends his statement by saying he&#8217;s exploring all his legal options, including a civil rights lawsuit. Here&#8217;s his full statement:
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Equality. <a href="https://t.co/NQ4pJt94AZ">pic.twitter.com/NQ4pJt94AZ</a>
&#8212; Michael Bennett (@mosesbread72) <a href="https://twitter.com/mosesbread72/status/905430701595652096">September 6, 2017</a></blockquote>
</div>
H/T <a href="http://www.theblaze.com/news/2017/09/07/vegas-police-contest-seattle-seahawks-players-accusations-of-brutality-racial-profiling/">TheBlaze</a>

Seattle Seahawks’ Bennett: Cops Racially Profiled Me. Cops: Here Are All The Details He Left Out.

Law Enforcement

Police

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett says he was left &#8220;terrified&#8221; and felt &#8220;helpless&#8221; after being attacked by Las Vegas police officers as he was walking back to his hotel following the Mayweather-McGregor fight.
In a Twitter post that quickly went viral, Bennett accused Las Vegas police of pulling weapons on him and using excessive force in what he claims is a case of mistaken identity. The post &#8212; an open letter &#8212; was captioned, &#8220;Equality.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Equality. <a href="https://t.co/NQ4pJt94AZ">pic.twitter.com/NQ4pJt94AZ</a>
&#8212; Michael Bennett (@mosesbread72) <a href="https://twitter.com/mosesbread72/status/905430701595652096">September 6, 2017</a></blockquote>
Bennett claims in his letter that he was walking back to his hotel from the fight with a group of friends when he heard what he thought were gunshots. He says he and his group ran in the direction opposite the noise, trying to get to safety, when they were confronted by Las Vegas police officers who pointed their weapons at the group and ordered Bennett and his friends to the ground.
The officer then threatened Bennett, reportedly telling the football player that, if he moved, he&#8217;d &#8220;blow my f***ing head off.&#8221; Bennett says a second officer &#8220;forcefully jammed his knee&#8221; into Bennett&#8217;s back making it difficult for Bennett to breathe, and was so aggressive that Bennett was left &#8220;terrified and confused.&#8221;
&#8220;The Officers&#8217; excessive use of force was unbearable,&#8221; Bennett wrote. &#8220;I felt helpless as I lay there on the ground handcuffed facing the real-life threat of being killed.&#8221;
Bennett was led to the back of a squad car where he was detained until he says officers realized who he was. He claims he repeatedly asserted his Constitutional rights (though it&#8217;s not clear what rights he thought he had in the situation), but was told to &#8220;shut up&#8221; until officers verified his identity and released him. Bennett maintains that he was unarmed and sober.
TMZ obtained some footage of the incident.
<iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="421" width="664"></iframe>
&#8220;The system failed me. I can only imagine what Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, and Charleena Lyles felt,&#8221; Barrett wrote. &#8220;This fact is unequivocally, without question why before every game I sit during the national anthem &#8230; because equality doesn&#8217;t live in this country and no matter how much money you make, what job title you have, or how much you give, when you are seen as a &#8216;n*****,&#8217; you will be treated that way.&#8221;
Bennett has already lawyered up, retaining California civil rights lawyer John Burris to investigate the incident and, possibly file a civil rights claim agains the Las Vegas police department. Burris says he&#8217;s considering charges of unlawful detention and use of excessive force. Burris and Bennett say he went public with his story today because the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has, so far, refused to turn over records of Bennett&#8217;s detainment.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department does not dispute that there was an incident that night, but a spokesperson for the <a href="http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/news/las-vegas-pd-michael-bennett-seahawks/6oeh02ig5m7p161po69dbb3dj">LVMPD, Undersheriff Kevin McMahill, told a press conference late Wednesday</a> that officers were responding to an &#8220;active shooter situation&#8221; inside a Las Vegas casino and ordered everyone in the area down to the ground. They claim that officers saw Bennett crouch behind a slot machine and then take off running, at which point officers gave chase.
Because of Bennett&#8217;s actions, McMahill said, officers on the scene believed he was involved in the shooting, and not because of his skin color. &#8220;I see no evidence that race played any role in this incident,&#8221; he said. McMahill also said that Bennett had no issue with his detainment, but did bring up how he was treated to his arresting officers. He went on to say that an investigation is ongoing.
The NFL also released a statement late Wednesday, calling Bennett &#8220;a leader on his team and in his community.&#8221; The league said it &#8220;will support Michael and all NFL players in promoting mutual respect between law enforcement and the communities they loyally serve and fair and equal treatment under the law.&#8221;

Seattle Seahawks’ Michael Bennett Says He Was Attacked By Las Vegas Police

According to one member of the Seattle Seahawks, the team is considering sitting down en masse during the national anthem this Sunday, September 11.
As reported in the <a href="http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/seahawks-doug-baldwin-bobby-wagner-considering-expanding-anthem-protest/">Seattle Times</a>, linebacker Bobby Wagner, who is considering joining cornerback Jeremy Lane, who has already sat during the anthem during the preseason and said he intends to <a href="v">continue doing so</a>, said, &#8220;Anything we want to do, it&#8217;s not going to be individual. It&#8217;s going to be a team thing. That&#8217;s what the world needs to see. The world needs to see people coming together versus being individuals.&#8221; He added that he couldn&#8217;t say whether the team would join Lane but &#8220;whatever we decide to do will be a big surprise . . . our locker room has discussed it. So we&#8217;ll see.&#8221; He said what the organization felt about the matter was irrelevant, saying, &#8220;We have the freedom to do whatever we want here. Whatever we decide to do, we ain&#8217;t gonna get into too much trouble. We&#8217;re big kids now.&#8221;
Seattle receiver Doug Baldwin said on Wednesday he might join Lane when the anthem is played before Sunday&#8217;s 1:05 p.m. kickoff at Century Link Field.
Baldwin tweeted last Friday, &#8220;We honor those who fight for our right to freedom of speech and then condemn those who exercise that right?&#8221; He asserted, &#8220;My grandfather being in the military, it hit home for me as well, and specifically it&#8217;s the veterans. That&#8217;s more heartening to me than anything is the veterans that have reached out and said that&#8217;s what they fought for, that&#8217;s what they sacrificed their lives for, is to give people back home under the flag, under this country, the opportunity to stand up or sit for what they believe in.&#8221;
Lane sat last Thursday before the final preseason game at Oakland, claiming he was showing solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, who incited a hailstorm of criticism when he sat during the anthem two weeks ago.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said he has spoken with Lane and the team and the team approves of anything Lane does, stating, &#8220;He&#8217;s pretty clear on what he did and what he was trying to express and I think it is very simple and so we&#8217;ll leave that up to him. But he understands the responsibility of it, I think, and shouldering it.&#8217;&#8217;
When asked whether the game being played on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks might affect the response to a possible sit-down, Baldwin answered, &#8220;Even if it wasn&#8217;t September 11 the point of the protest is to get people to think. I think it&#8217;s very ironic to me that 15 years ago on Sept.11 was one of the most devastating times in U.S .history and after that day we were probably the most unified that we have ever been. And today we struggle to see the unity. And it&#8217;s very ironic to me that this date is coming up.&#8221;
<blockquote>
&#8220;Our locker room has discussed it. So we&#8217;ll see.&#8221;
Seattle Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner
</blockquote>
Carroll, who was <a href="http://deadspin.com/is-pete-carroll-a-9-11-truther-513149713">seemingly a &#8220;truther&#8221;</a> regarding the 9/11 attacks, was asked whether the 9-11 anniversary should be taken into consideration. He answered, &#8220;Not specifically to that. We have a concern that this date is coming up just because we are Americans and it&#8217;s an important day. But not specifically to that.&#8221;
Wagner said Kaepernick&#8217;s actions and the fallout have been a positive action, arguing, &#8220;At some point you have to do whatever you need to do to get that fixed. I think what he&#8217;s done is opened up that conversation and made people talk about it. Whenever you have the president talking about those types of things, it&#8217;s definitely getting it&#8217;s message across. But I think it&#8217;s a very positive message. There should be justice and equality for everybody, no matter what your skin color is, and I think that&#8217;s what he&#8217;s fighting for because a lot of black people don&#8217;t get that.&#8221;

Seattle Seahawks Might Sit For National Anthem on 9/11

Seattle Seahawks (2-4) @ San Francisco 49ers (2-4)
Last year&#8217;s Super Bowl chumps, the Seattle Seahawks, head to Levi&#8217;s Stadium in Santa Clara to face the San Francisco 49ers in what should be a solid divisional game on Thursday Night Football. 
These are two teams that seem to be heading in opposite directions. <a href="http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2015101808/2015/REG6/panthers@seahawks#menu=gameinfo%7CcontentId%3A0ap3000000560159&amp;tab=videos">The Seahawks lost at home last weekend to the Carolina Panthers 27-23.</a> Despite some excellent plays in the second half of the game by Seattle playmakers &#8211; <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2015/10/18/9564887/seattle-seahawks-flea-flicker-marshawn-lynch-russell-wilson-ricardo-lockette">the flea flicker to Ricardo Lockette in the endzone is one not to miss</a> &#8211; Carolina came back to win with a fourth quarter TD pass to Greg Olsen, sealing Seattle&#8217;s fate.
Seahawks bandwagon fans have officially begun burning their 12th man jerseys and coming up with excuses about why football isn&#8217;t cool anymore. 
The 49ers on the other hand <a href="http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2015101810/2015/REG6/ravens@49ers#menu=gameinfo%7CcontentId%3A0ap3000000561367&amp;tab=analyze">beat the Ravens at home 25-20</a>. Kaepernick threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns against one of the most desperate passing defenses in the league, totaling just under 200 yards to the two former Ravens Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith. Yet over half the team&#8217;s points came from their kicker Phil Dawson, who went 4/4 onfield goals (53 yards his longest) and an extra point. 
Despite the teams&#8217; even records, Seattle&#8217;s 2-game losing streak, and San Francisco&#8217;s home field advantage and win last week, Seattle is still favored to win by five and a half points. 
Seattle may have defeated the 49ers in their past three matchups, but do they deserve to be favored by nearly a touchdown?
The answer is yes.
The 49ers may have won last week, but this is following a streak of four losses in a row. Their running game has been flawed and until last weekend, their bell-cow Carlos Hyde hadn&#8217;t cracked 100 yards rushing since Week 1. 
And home field is not an advantage for the 49ers. I&#8217;ve been to a home game &#8230; the fans there are more interested in standing up for &#8220;the wave&#8221; than keeping the opposing offense off the field. 
There is fantasy relevancy, and that&#8217;s why you&#8217;re here. 
One in 12 of you have Marshawn Lynch. This week features an interesting matchup: Lynch vs. Bowman. Inside linebacker Navarro Bowman is riding a major hot streak, recording 26 tackles in the past two games. He stuffed the box to keep Justin Forsett out of the endzone, holding him to 62 yards on 17 carries (3.64 yards per carry), and he stopped Jennings and Vereen on the New York Giants the week before. 
Of course, Marshawn Lynch is no Jennings or Vereen. 
The question is whether the Seahawks&#8217; offensive line will be sufficient enough to let Lynch really shine. Pro Football Focus rated <a href="http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/seahawks/seattle-seahawks-grades-from-pro-football-focus-high-marks-for-wilson-and-graham-low-marks-for-offensive-line-cornerbacks/">the Seattle line a combined rating of -9.5 for their efforts in last week&#8217;s matchup</a> against Carolina. Center Patrick Lewis&#8217;s -4.7 was the third worst among centers in week 6. 
Lynch got 17 carries last week &#8211; Pete Carroll appears to have learned his lesson &#8211; and he&#8217;ll get his carries again this week. And while Bowman beasts with the best of them, and while I like inside linebacker Michael Wihoite&#8217;s hustle the past two games, the 49ers really don&#8217;t have a remarkable defensive line, which means there&#8217;s a chance Lynch averages over 5 yards per carry, and breaks a couple big ones off for 30. 
Carlos Hyde is currently questionable for this game, and the Thursday night game does not give him much time to rest. Reggie Bush meanwhile is also questionable and may be there to take carries away, but I think Hyde will burden the load. 
Fantasy Predictions:
Two speedy quarterbacks have the potential to run for some yards, but I just don&#8217;t see that happening. Russell Wilson finally found how fun it can be to have a monster truck like Jimmy Graham to play with, but I do not see him repeating his 140 yard performance from last week. 
More likely, this is how I see this week&#8217;s Thursday night game playing out:
Wilson finds Graham early for a huge play to go ahead of San Francisco 7-0 or 7-3. Seahawks control the clock handing the ball off to Lynch the rest of the game. Lynch breaks off a big one and ends up with a HUGE 120 yard game with 2 touchdowns on 21 touches.
You&#8217;re welcome, Lynch owners.
Wilson will pass for around 200 yards and a TD. He will run for a TD as well.
Graham gets going early and wins up with 90 yards on 7 receptions, hopefully he gets the TD. Otherwise, Wilson spreads the ball around. Doug Baldwin the second highest receiver with 4 receptions and 60 yards. 
Kaepernick hits Boldin and Smith 5 or 6 times each for 70-80 yards, gets one or two in the endzone, but he throws a couple picks as well.
Hyde rushes the ball 18 times for 80 yards. No TD. 
The real stars of the show will be the kickers.
Must Start: Marshawn Lynch, Jimmy Graham, Steven Hauschka, Phil Dawson
Can Start: Torrey Smith, Carlos Hyde, Russell Wilson
Sleeper Pick: Torrey Smith. Anquan Boldin has an awesome history with Richard Sherman. Both have been <a href="http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20130916/BLOG06/130919855">very vocal about each other</a>. However, I do not see Boldin stepping it up this week, which means Smith will have to dominate the open looks. He could wind up with over 100 yards and the TD. Not a safe bet against the Seattle secondary, but if you&#8217;re looking sleeper for Thursday, Torrey Smith is your guy.

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