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Michael Bennett Rumors: Breaking It All Down

By Dan Viens

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Trying to make sense of all the Michael Bennett reports, rumors and innuendo over the last eight days is akin to any random episode of People’s Court, with polar opposite opinions being voiced by multiple parties with no concrete proof available for either side to support their argument.  

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Speculation and emotion rules the day, and until Bennett himself says something, there appears to be no end in sight to the confusion.

Let’s recap:

March 17 – Longtime Dallas Cowboy beat reporter Clarence Hill gets it all started with a simple tweet

Within hours, the Seahawks issued a statement denying Hill’s report.  Several Seahawks beat writers and talk-show hosts jumped on the “no way it’s true because_____” bandwagon, and within 48 hours of that initial tweet the story seemed to lose steam and everyone assumed it was a dead horse.

At least until Seattle Times Seahawks beat writer Bob Condotta went ahead and beat it some more yesterday, quoting “sources” who claimed that, while Bennett wasn’t seeking a trade, he was indeed looking to renegotiate the 4-year contract he just signed last offseason.  Many, including me, saw this as a sign that maybe there was more to this story than could simply be brushed aside by a simple denial.  You now had two well-respected beat writers reporting essentially the same thing.  Still, with nothing but silence from Bennett himself, and others left to speak for him, speculation was all we had.

Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Something definitive from either Pete Carroll or John Schneider could have doused the flames, but then there was this exchange between Condotta and Schneider at the owner’s meeting in Arizona yesterday.

On if Bennett has ever asked to be traded: “He’s never asked to be traded.

So that means he’s never asked to be traded or to have his contract re-done: “He’s never asked to be traded.’’

That sounded not only cryptic, but evasive.  One of those non-denial-denials that send you scrambling for deeper sources when used by politicians.  Like it was said with a wink, as if Schneider was trying to tell us something by not telling us anything!

Finally this morning, this happened:

So that would seem to settle things.

Except it didn’t.  Because we have yet to hear anything from the one person who could clear all this up.

Wherefore art thou, Mr. Bennett?

Through all of this, Bennett has been in some kind of Steve Perry-esque limbo;  we know he’s out there somewhere, we just have no idea where he is, who he’s with, or what he’s thinking.  The fact that he would allow all of this career-impacting chatter go on for eight days, information that may be completely untrue, when he could put it all to rest with a simple statement would seem to be not only simple but prudent.

Except maybe he has no idea.  Maybe he’s somewhere tropical, remote, and off the grid while his agent runs amok with backroom whispering and posturing.  Or perhaps he knows exactly what’s going on, after all he seems sharper than your average tack.  His silence could…… COULD be calculated.  Once a rather active and entertaining Twitter participant, Bennett hasn’t tweeted anything since October 23rd of last year.

Stay tuned.  This story may not be over just yet.

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