Notorious anthem kneeler charged ... lawyer reveals what will really happen if case goes to trial
The attorney for NFL defensive end Michael Bennett says that if his client is forced to stand trial for allegedly causing injury to an elderly person in connection to an incident that took place last year at the Super Bowl, Bennett will plead not guilty to the charge.
“The only two possible outcomes for this case is the DA’s office (saying) they don’t have a case and dismissing, or a trial — one or the other,” attorney Rusty Hardin told ESPN. “If and whenever they ask for a plea, it will be not guilty.”
Bennett — who was traded this offseason by the Seattle Seahawks to the Philadelphia Eagles — posted $10,000 bond Monday after a grand jury in Texas indicted him over an incident in February of last year at NRG Stadium following Super Bowl LI.
Bennett — who has been one of the league’s consistent protesters of the national anthem each of the past two seasons — was at the game to watch his brother, tight end Martellus Bennett, play in the Super Bowl for the New England Patriots.
Prosecutors say that after the game ended, Bennett was trying to get onto the field to join his brother and other Patriots as they celebrated their victory.
But according to the district attorney, Bennett was told by the security team — which included a paraplegic 66-year-old woman — he had to use a different entrance.
That’s when Bennett allegedly pushed through the security members, including the 66-year-old, authorities said.
According to Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, Bennett allegedly told the people he had pushed, “You all must know who I am, and I can own this m—–f—–. I’m going down to the field, whether you like it or not.”
The paraplegic woman suffered a sprained shoulder, according to Acevedo.
Bennett’s next court appearance in Harris County, Texas, is set for April 23, but Hardin said he does not expect the judge to request a plea from his client at that meeting.
Hardin said he believes Bennett is innocent.
“I just don’t think he did it,” Hardin told ESPN. “He certainly didn’t do anything intentionally, or negligibly or recklessly push or hurt her. Now, did something else happen to her from somebody else? I just don’t know.”
“I think the bigger issue is there were a bunch of people going through that door, anywhere from 20 to 35 people rushing to go down on the field to see their loved ones and celebrate with them. He and his family were with a group of other Patriot family members, and when the game was over, these different families all went to the floor.”
“I just know that this guy would never intentionally or knowingly push her or do anything to somebody in a wheelchair,” he added. “That just didn’t happen.”
Acevedo called Bennett “morally bankrupt” for his actions after the game. Hardin said that’s absolutely not the case.
“Like the chief of police, I wasn’t there,” Hardin said, per the Houston Chronicle. “Unlike the chief of police, I can tell you right now this guy’s not morally bankrupt. He’s one of the best people I’ve met.”
Hardin described Acevedo’s comments about his client as being “totally over the top … and at the end of the day he’s going to regret it, because he will find he wasn’t given good information.”
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