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Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett pulled out of a scheduled trip to Israel with 9 other NFL players Friday after he discovered it was being sponsored by the Israeli government.
Bennett explained the reasons behind his decision in a post on Twitter:
On Thursday, The Nation published an open letter from activists Angela Davis, Alice Walker, John Carlos and Craig Hodges, among others, asking the NFL delegation to Israel to re-evaluate its decision.
"Based on the public dedication to social justice that many of you share, it came as a surprise to us to see that you will be going on a tour of Israel next week sponsored by the Israeli government as part of an effort to get you to 'become ambassadors of goodwill for Israel,'" the letter read.