Michael Bennett says blackballing of Colin Kaepernick keeps other players from speaking out

Colin Kaepernick is still a free agent because he kneeled during the national anthem last season to protest oppression and racial inequality. On Wednesday, Michael Bennett said Kaepernick’s lingering unemployment will keep some players from joining that movement.

“He had to sacrifice. He spoke up and dealt with a lot of things that were going on — from death threats, people not wanting him in the stadium, people hating him,” Bennett said on ESPN Wednesday. “I think a lot of players were scared of that. Then on top of that, players feeling like he was being blackballed, people were eventually scared.”

But Bennett doesn’t want anyone to lose sight of the bigger picture.

”But now, just because he’s out of the league, we didn’t want to lose that message, pushing for liberty and equality for everybody,” Bennett said. “We just wanted to keep that message alive.”

Bennett also thinks that white players could change the narrative around the protests if they joined their black teammates.

“Because when somebody from the other side understands and they step up and they speak up about it ... it would change the whole conversation,” Bennett said on ESPN Wednesday. “Because when you bring somebody who doesn’t have to be a part of [the] conversation making himself vulnerable in front of it, I think when that happens, things will really take a jump.”

Last weekend, protests over a statue of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Va., turned violent as white nationalists clashed with people who want to remove the monument to a man who fought to preserve slavery. Bennett said he had been considering protesting the national anthem for a while, but seeing the repercussions of hate in Charlottesville spurred him to action.

“Over the weekend, so much violence, so much hate,” Bennett said. “I just wanted to remember why we were American citizens, remember the freedom, the liberty, and the equality, make sure we never forget that.

“I really wanted to honor that, the founding principles of what we’re all supposed to be. Charlottesville was so crazy, so much going on in the world now, it just made sense.”

Some people believe that kneeling during the national anthem shows contempt toward the military. The Seahawks welcomed members of the military to practice this week, and Bennett said they were supportive.

“People make this divide, like I’m trying to disrespect the military. And they come to me and say this is what they’re fighting for,” Bennett said. “It just touched my heart.”

Bennett also called upon players to inspire kids to work toward making the world a better place.

“Instead of just inspiring them to be athletes,” he said, “we can inspire them to be change-makers.”

This is a difficult situation for players, because the repercussions for Kaepernick have been so harsh. San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch is the latest general manager to criticize the protests, calling them “divisive.”

”And I think this game brings people together. So I think personally when I see that, I think that’s divisive,” Lynch said via ESPN’s Nick Wagoner. “And I understand guys see things and they’re not happy. They have that right. And I think we’ll always respect people’s rights. That doesn’t mean I believe that.”

The backlash against kneeling or raising a fist during the national anthem isn’t going away. But that’s not going to stop Bennett from keeping this movement going.