Fresh from a duck boat ride with Patriots teammates celebrating a Super Bowl victory, Martellus Bennett fired off a series tweets that seemed to address the backlash over his plan to skip a visit to President Donald Trump at the White House.

The ex-Bear and ardent Hillary Clinton supporter drew a comparison between himself and Jennifer Lawrence's big-screen rebel icon: "Media makes me seem like I'm Katniss Everdeen. Lol."

The Patriots, either unwillingly or unwittingly, have been a politically divisive force among many NFL fans because of Trump's support from quarterback Tom Brady, coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft.

Not my White House visit: Ex-Bear Martellus Bennett to duck Trump meeting Phil Thompson

Martellus Bennett said before the Super Bowl that he would pass on visiting President Donald Trump's White House and he plans to stick to it.

The Patriots ensured they would be making a trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. after winning their fifth championship in overtime Sunday against the Falcons.

...

Martellus Bennett said before the Super Bowl that he would pass on visiting President Donald Trump's White House and he plans to stick to it.

The Patriots ensured they would be making a trip to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. after winning their fifth championship in overtime Sunday against the Falcons.

... (Phil Thompson)

Bennett drove a hammer into that breach when he said "I'm not going to go." He added, via the Dallas Morning-News, “It is what it is. People know how I feel about it. Just follow me on Twitter.” Later, Patriots cornerback Devin McCourty told Time via text message that he also was going to skip the White House trip.

Bennett's statements have been a hot topic on social media, and in a series of (typically quirky) tweets Tuesday, he suggested he isn't going to shy from his role as self-fashioned social justice advocate.

"Don't get mad because I found what they thought they could hide in books."

"I'm #Woke."

"I was a black man yesterday and I'm going to be a black man tomorrow. My wife and daughter are women today and will be women tomorrow."

"I'm going to speak my mind because guess what... that's right for a looonngg time my ancestors didn't have a voice."

"This is important. I'm important. You're important. We're important.  They're important. That's important."

"Y'all thought I was just a goofy dude here to make you laugh. Well that's partially true I do enjoy that. But it's bigger than that."

"That's all. #StayWokeBruh"

plthompson@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @_phil_thompson

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