Watt, Bennett show that athletes can make a difference in different ways
The star defensive end noticed a problem that had nothing to do with football, and he figured he had both a duty and an opportunity. Maybe he was out of his element — or out of what everyone thought his element should be — but that didn’t matter.
So he spoke up on behalf of a community bigger than himself, and he planned this in a way to maximize the attention he would get. Attention, really, was the entire point.
Thank goodness nobody told J.J. Watt to stick to sports.
And thank goodness Michael Bennett doesn’t care if they tell him that or not.
Some similarities
There will be those who bristle at seeing those two names together, but they share more than just a position and a penchant for headlines. Watt and Bennett both maintain that professional athletes can be instruments of societal good, and we cannot believe one without believing the other.
For the record, they have some causes in common, too. Bennett, the former Texas A&M standout who hails from Alief, put his foundation to work on Hurricane Harvey relief last week and reported raising more than $130,000 to aid relief efforts.
Only in comparison to Watt’s incredible social media campaign could such a number seem like an afterthought. As of Wednesday, thanks in part to a $5 million check from H-E-B’s Charles Butt, Watt had raised a staggering $28 million and counting.
Even before Harvey, the Texans’ Watt and the Seattle Seahawks’ Bennett tackled similar issues. Watt’s charitable foundation helps fund afterschool athletic programs, and Bennett’s fights childhood obesity. Last spring, Bennett announced he would donate all of his 2017 endorsement money to charity, including inner-city garden projects.
But chances are, that is not why you have heard his name before. Bennett, of course, is one of the NFL players who have rankled fans by using the national anthem to protest racial injustice.
Wednesday, the same day Watt accepted an oversized check from Butt, Bennett posted a letter on his Twitter account detailing an Aug. 27 incident in which he said police officers in Las Vegas ordered him onto the ground, handcuffed him, jammed a knee into his back, placed a gun to his head and threatened to kill him “without any legitimate justification.”
A video of a man appearing to be Bennett being handcuffed while asking police what he did wrong was posted by TMZ Sports later Wednesday afternoon. Bennett’s attorney released a statement saying his client “was unarmed, sober and not involved in any altercations or dispute at the time the police officers arrested and threatened to use deadly force against him.”
In his letter, Bennett said he would continue to sit during the national anthem “because equality doesn’t live in this country.”
Last month, before the Las Vegas incident and after the unrest in Charlottesville, Va., Bennett told reporters in Seattle he “just wanted to be able to use (his) platform to be able to speak on injustice.”
“I want to make sure that people understand I love the military,” Bennett said. “My father was in the military. I love hot dogs, like any other American. I love football like any other American. But I don’t love segregation. I don’t love riots. I don’t love oppression. I don’t love gender slander. And I just want to see people have equality that they deserve.”
A typical response to that kind of talk goes like this: How can Bennett complain about racism when he is rich and famous? Should he not just shut up, focus on football, and do the job he is paid so well to perform?
Worth the distraction
Well, what if Watt had listened to that logic? What if he had not put out a plea for aid for Harvey victims because he had a huge house that wasn’t destroyed by the flooding? What if he decided to stick to preparing for the opener, because talking about anything other than football would be too distracting to his team?
Thankfully, Watt decided a distraction was OK in this case, and bringing attention to himself served a purpose. Thankfully, thousands and thousands of people agreed.
Bennett’s quest is not as popular, because it cannot be taken care of with PayPal donations or oversized checks. The message, by necessity, is not nearly as uplifting.
But if we are going to encourage players to speak, it can’t be only when they are talking about the things that make us feel good about ourselves. Sometimes we need to be reminded of the things we can do better.
And if you still think athletes can’t make that kind of a difference?
As Watt’s trucks roll in, the people of Houston might argue otherwise.