Little more than 24 hours after Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett alleged that Las Vegas police officers used unnecessary force with him, the battle lines between the two sides are being drawn.
Predictably, the NFLPA put its support firmly behind Bennett and equally predictably, the Las Vegas police initially responded by asking people not to rush to judgment. But on Thursday, the Las Vegas Metro Police Protective Association fired off a strongly worded letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
#BREAKING: letter from union for @LVMPD officers to @nflcommish requesting investigation into Michael Bennett @mosesbread72 @LVPPA @8NewsNow pic.twitter.com/B7tdqgag7K
— Vanessa_Murphy (@Vanessa_Murphy) September 7, 2017
While Bennett did come away from the incident unscathed (at least physically), this has potential to be a real hot-button issue for a while.
One thing to note is that it’s hard to imagine anyone with any knowledge of past history asking Roger Goodell to conduct an independent investigation. The NFL’s independent investigations have historically ended up irritating both sides (ie: Deflategate).
This is obviously not the last that we’ve heard of this situation. But it is the strongest retort from an official, named source we’ve had to Bennett’s original claims. Certainly, more is to come and chances are, it will also be quite public.