Getty Browns QB Baker Mayfield.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield was targeted in a string of tweets from former Super Bowl champion Martellus Bennett, who called out the former Heisman winner for his “white privilege” while breaking down racism in the NFL and the plight of the black quarterback.
“Sports media folks play a rol[e] in the framing of negative narratives around black players too. A lot of you [expletive] are racist as well,” Bennett wrote. “Black QB have to do every [expletive] thing right, baker mayfield and his white privilege allows him to do whatever he wants. ‘This kid has so much swagger’ no the [expletive] he doesn’t. If a black QB did any of that and lost the narrative wouldn’t be swagger it be unfocused, not serious.”
Bennett played 10 seasons in the NFL with the Cowboys, Giants, Bears, Patriots and Packers. He won Super Bowl LI with New England.
Baker Mayfield Has Had Some Tough Moments in Career
Mayfield is known for his brash personality and isn’t scared to speak his mind, although sometimes it gets him in trouble and he has clashed with media members on multiple occasions.
He also was arrested in college and charged with public intoxication, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and fleeing. A video of the incident was released showing Mayfield trying to run from the officers, but he gets tackled shortly after. The future No. 1 overall pick eventually pled guilty to three misdemeanors and paid $480 in fines and $483.20 in restitution.
Mayfield has even made light of the situation, saying the biggest lesson he learned in college was: “Don’t run from the cops.”
Baker Mayfield on biggest lesson he learned in college: “Don’t run from the cops.”
#Browns
Mayfield looked every part the top pick during his first year, when he set the rookie record for touchdown passes (27) in just 13 starts. The mark was previously held by Peyton Manning and Russell Wilson. However, Mayfield stumbled his sophomore season with 3,827 yards, 22 touchdowns and 21 interceptions, ranking next-to-last in both passer rating (78.8) and completion percentage (59.4%). And that was with Mayfield having both Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry at his disposal.
Martellus Bennett’s Tweets Sparked by Drew Brees’ Comments
New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees sparked the tweets from Bennett after expressing his point of view on the national anthem protests and kneeling in an interview with Yahoo Finance. It was Brees’ first comments since the death of George Floyd and ensuing protests.
“I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country,” the future Hall of Famer said. “Let me just tell what I see or what I feel when the national anthem is played and when I look at the flag of the United States.
“I envision my two grandfathers, who fought for this country during world war two, one in the Army and one in the Marine Corps. Both risking their lives to protect our country and to try to make our country and this world a better place. So every time I stand with my hand over my heart looking at that flag and singing the national anthem, that’s what I think about.”
Highlight: @readdanwrite asks @drewbrees what the star NFL quarterback thinks about “players kneeling again when the NFL season starts.”
@drewbrees: “I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the flag of the United States of America or our country.”
Full exchange:
The interview inspired a harsh reaction from the sports world — from LeBron James to Brees’ teammates. Bennett simply wasn’t having it.
“Damn y’all thought Drew would say something different than what he did?” he wrote. “Tell me one white QB that truly stands for something other than their captain America images. … Not one of them spoke up when it wasn’t easy to speak up. Now they writing statements.”
Bennett continued: “You get in front of millions on your platform and give [an] ignorant statement [expletive] up the message dudes have lost their jobs fighting for. You and your friends need to take your knees off of the necks of your black teammates and stand for something.”
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