Martellus Bennett

Martellus Bennett ‘Black Olympics’ video filmed with his brother Michael Bennett and tell us what you think in the comments. Both are professional football players playing for the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks respectively.

The so-called “black Olympics” video is wrong on so many levels. On the one hand we do need to lighten up as a nation and stop taking everything so seriously. On the other hand, racial stereotyping is not the way to make fun of ourselves. In the video, Martellus Bennett with his brother Michael compete in competitions ranging from eating fried chicken and watermelon to drinking Kool-aid.

This story reminds me of our painful history of race relations in sports. In the old negro-leagues, all-black teams would occasionally play major league baseball teams for exhibition. The black players were roundly jeered by the spectators, and there is one famous incident of a white major league professional player rolling a watermelon on to the field.