Seattle Times writer Matt Calkins apologizes to Michael Bennett

The writer who inspired Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett to boycott a local Seattle newspaper has issued an apology.

Over the weekend, Matt Calkins of the Seattle Times published a feature that praised Bennett for the work he does in the community but criticized him for his “incredibly childish” behavior at times. As an example, Calkins cited the incident last postseason in which Bennett went ballistic on a reporter after a loss to the Atlanta Falcons. The reporter, Bill Wixey of Q13 Fox, is a cancer survivor. Bennnett was unaware of that when he angrily asked him what kind of adversity he had ever endured.

Here’s what Calkins wrote about the incident:

He called him a “non-playing (expletive)” and asked what kind of adversity he’d been through, implying that there was no way it could be on par with an NFL player. Well, that reporter survived cancer, which Bennett obviously didn’t know. But the fact that he never apologized or even acknowledged it reeks of immaturity.”

On Monday, Calkins learned he had made a mistake. Bennett did, in fact, apologize to Wixey. He did so privately, and Q13’s news director confirmed that and said Bennett and Wixey “left the conversation in a good place.” In a follow-up column, Calkins admitted that he should have done a better job with his homework.

Sure, there is still a part of me that wonders why Bennett kept (the apology) private. If he is serious about being a role model, I feel like it would have been in his best interest to show his contrition to the world. But it’s also possible that Wixey, who couldn’t be reached for comment, asked Bennett to keep the apology between them so the story would die. I just don’t know.

What I do know is that I should have reached out to Wixey before posting my column. The fact that I didn’t was just plain lazy.

I made an assumption, which led to a misrepresentation, which led to an unfair critique. I apologize for that.

Bennett made some pretty strong comments on Twitter after Calkins’ initial article, so it’s unclear if the apology will be enough. When Richard Sherman announced he would boycott all media members except for one last season, he eventually softened his stance. Time will tell if Bennett plans to do the same.

H/T Deadspin