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Court date postponed again for Philadelphia Eagles DE Michael Bennett

By The Sports Xchange
Former Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett (72) was traded to the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles for a fifth-round pick and receiver Marcus Johnson on March 7, 2018. File photo by Jim Bryant/UPI
Former Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett (72) was traded to the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles for a fifth-round pick and receiver Marcus Johnson on March 7, 2018. File photo by Jim Bryant/UPI | License Photo

Philadelphia Eagles All-Pro defensive end Michael Bennett, facing a felony charge of injury to the elderly, had his scheduled court hearing postponed again.

Bennett was set to be arraigned on Wednesday, but his lawyer, Rusty Hardin, told NFL Media on Tuesday that the date was pushed back to Aug. 7.

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The former Seattle Seahawks standout turned himself in to authorities on March 26 and was charged with the felony count in relation to an incident after last year's Super Bowl.

Bennett attended the game at NRG Stadium in Houston in February 2017 and attempted to get onto the field immediately after the game to celebrate with his brother, Martellus Bennett, a tight end for the victorious New England Patriots at the time.

Prosecutors allege that Michael Bennett forced his way through security and pushed a 66-year-old woman in a wheelchair who was a stadium employee.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Houston police Chief Art Acevedo said Bennett "forcibly opened locked doors" in the NRG Stadium tunnels, ignoring security and pushing several members of the security team. Acevedo called Bennett "morally bankrupt."

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The woman sustained a sprained shoulder, according to Acevedo. Bennett's lawyer denied the version of that account.

"There was no fighting, there was no pushing," Hardin said. "The entire thing is ludicrous. That's what I think we'll find when it's all over."

Hardin said in April that Bennett is not concerned because he knows he is innocent.

"He knows he didn't do this," Hardin said. "He's assuming the system will ultimately conclude that, once they get all the information. But it's obviously a very embarrassing and humiliating thing to go through, walking out of a court room with a bunch of TV cameras and in handcuffs, particularly for something you didn't even do."

Bennett was traded from the Seattle Seahawks to the Eagles this offseason.

Hardin told ESPN in March that his client would plead not guilty if a felony case on a charge of injury to the elderly goes to trial.

Bennett posted a $10,000 bond after a grand jury indicted him over the incident.

The charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

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