Retired NFL tight end Martellus Bennett on Thursday reacted to the Boston Red Sox visiting the White House to celebrate their World Series victory with President Donald Trump.

Bennett, who skipped the White House visit when he won the Super Bowl with the New England Patriots, said when “CNN Tonight” host Don Lemon asked him if he asked his white teammates why they went to visit Trump that the white players did not understand what it was like for “black men in America” — even if they were wealthy.

“As we started taking our stance, guys were taking the knee and all these different things on every team I played on — there were conversations. And the main conversations were they just couldn’t grasp why we cared so much when we were separated from as far as wealth, well-being and who we are had nothing to do with them,” Bennett shared. “They couldn’t understand that when we said like, ‘No, these are my cousins. When I look at these people, these are my cousins, these are my brothers. Yeah, I may not get pulled over today, but I’m still a black man in a Mercedes-Benz.'”

He continued, “They couldn’t understand or grasp that even though we have money, we’re still black men in America. They don’t really get what that means and what we go through just from that. They thought we separate it to another level. but we never separate ourselves from where we come from. We are still black to the end of the day. I’m no longer playing sports, but I’m going to a black man forever.”

Martellus Bennett is the brother of Michael Bennett, an outspoken activist and defensive end for the New England Patriots.

Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent