Seahawks’ Michael Bennett wants NFL to give Kaepernick a chance

NFL owners and players held a three-plus hour meeting Tuesday to discuss player protests held during the national anthem. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell called the conversations “unprecedented” and said that while the league will not force players to participate in the anthem, the goal is to have all players stand.

Seahawks’ WR Doug Baldwin addresses Trump’s comments on NFL

Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett, though, said he believes the most honest way to have the conversation is to start by talking about why Colin Kaepernick has not been signed.

“That’s not derailing the message, (in fact) I think that’s part of the message,” Bennett told reporters Wednesday. “He started the message… (and) if we’re going to talk about the message, a guy who brought it up can’t get sacrificed and not be able to have the opportunity to play again. So for me, personally, and I think a lot of other guys, that’s something that needs to be addressed.”

Bennett, 31, said he believes that before the league and players begin seriously negotiating about protests held during the anthem, there needs to be a conversation about opening up the door for Kaepernick. The former 49ers quarterback, who was the first to initiate a protest of racism and police brutality during the anthem in 2016, has not been signed by any team since being released by San Francisco. A number of prominent athletes and sports figures have openly questioned Kaepernick’s unsigned status, including Bennett’s teammate, cornerback Richard Sherman.

Kaepernick has since filed a grievance against the NFL, alleging collusion among league owners.

“I feel like through everything that’s been lost, I think all of us are having an opportunity to speak to our employers, and then to think about the guy who started everything not to be able to have a voice at this moment, it just doesn’t seem very right to me,” Bennett said of Kaepernick. “If the employers are willing to accept what we’re doing and trying to make a change, then the change has to start with him having an opportunity and getting a chance to play. For me, that’s the first step before we make any kind of decision… And if you look at the quarterbacks playing in the NFL right now, out of the backups I can’t name one better than him. I think even before we can move forward, that’s something we need to address as a league and address as players and as the NFLPA, because if it can happen to one of our own, then how can we fight for what we want if we can’t even protect the people who play next to us?”

Bennett, who plans to continue to protest inequality during the anthem, also criticized the actions of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Jones who announced earlier this month he will bench any player who sits during the anthem.

“I just think it’s inconsiderate of a person, being a human being. I just thought it reminded me of the Dred Scott case. ‘You’re property, so you don’t have the ability to be a person first.’ And I think that in this generation, I think that sends the wrong message to young kids and young people all across the world that your employer doesn’t see you as a human being, he sees you as a piece of property.”

Follow @stacyrost