Sports

Martellus Bennett Says Most Football Players ‘Aren’t Good People’ While Blasting The Game’s Culture In A Scathing Rant

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Martellus Bennett criticizes football culture twitter

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Football has long prided itself on being a manly sport for manly men who do manly things in an incredibly manly manner, and if you play it at a competitive level, you’ll be expected to subscribe to the “football tough” mentality that defines the culture of the game.

It’s obviously far from the only sport where athletes are encouraged to play through the pain if they suffer a physical setback, but in football, players are expected to possess a certain level of Grit that prioritizes leaving everything on the field (even though the average NFL player will last less than three seasons in the league before never stepping onto the field again).

Martellus Bennett managed to play in the NFL for 11 years before eventually calling it quits, and over the course of his career, he became very well-acquainted with the aforementioned mindset. Since retiring, the tight end has not been shy when it comes to sounding off about the sport—whether it’s slamming the league’s stance on marijuana or the way it handles racial issues—and, now he has some more grievances to air.

On Tuesday, Bennett learned that former wide receiver and aspiring boxer Brandon Marshall thinks he could hold his own in the ring again Deontay Wilder, who may not have fared too well in his rematch with Tyson Fury last year but was still the heavyweight champion from 2015 to 2020.

Later that night, Bennett was apparently in the mood to go off a bit in a fascinating Twitter thread where he provided his followers with a look under the hood of the culture of the game and, well, it’s safe to say he has some fairly strong opinions.

While he didn’t explicitly compare football to the military, it’s impossible not to notice the many, many similarities between the indoctrination he suggests players are subjected to from the moment they begin playing the game, implying coaches are essentially drill instructors intent on dehumanizing opponents.

Those comparisons continued when Bennett discussed what it’s like to assimilate back to everyday life after devoting your entire life to football, saying many players ended up feeling lost and without a purpose and the sense of camaraderie they’re used to while also being forced to grapple with PTSD as a result of what they were subjected to over the course of their career.

While this certainly isn’t new information for anyone who’s been paying attention, Bennett also noted the financial hardships and long-term physical repercussions that many players don’t take into consideration until it’s far too late.

Preach, Martellus. Preach.

Connor Toole avatar and headshot for BroBible
Connor Toole is the Deputy Editor at BroBible and a Boston College graduate currently based in New England. He has spent close to 15 years working for multiple online outlets covering sports, pop culture, weird news, men's lifestyle, and food and drink.
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