Martellus Bennett says 'NFL is racist' on Twitter
In a series of tweets, former tight end Martellus Bennett said that
"the NFL is racist," claiming that white quarterbacks are more interested in protecting their image than fighting against racism or supporting their black teammates.
"Tell me one white QB that truly stands for something other than their captain America images," Bennett wrote. "Not one of them spoke up when it wasn’t easy to speak up. Now they writing statements. And y’all wanna applaud them for these statements, when y’all crucified every athlete that said something by protesting in the beginning. Locking arms was always stupid. There was no risk in locking arms. It was no [different] from these corporate BLM statement. Look [I’m] happy they’re saying something.. but when they had a chance to make a big play for their black teammates and colleagues most of em remained silent, showed ignorance or didn’t say anything of importance when it was really needed."
Bennett started by expressing his lack of surprise over Drew Brees saying he would "never agree" with anyone protesting during the national anthem. He then dove into his experience with racism during his time in the NFL.
"Funny thing is that if the white guys I showered with, slept next to, [went to the bathroom] next to, counted on etc etc would never speak up for me how could I ever expect the white folks I never spent any time with at all to do so?" he asked. "But now that there’s a safety net everyone wants to speak up. I hear it but I wanna see it."
He also criticized coaches, specifically calling out Denver Broncos Vic Fangio for saying that there's no racism in the NFL.
"And Fangio saying that there’s no racism in the league is like sitting on an elephant and telling me it’s a horse," Bennett wrote. "All these coaches with white daddy syndrome in the league and football period talking down to black players in a way they would never do to a white player know it’s wrong, then want to turn around and tell em I’m hard on because I love you like you’re my own son as an excuse."
Bennett played 10 seasons in the NFL, including stints with the Cowboys, Giants, Bears, Patriots and Packers.
More must-reads: