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Video: Solomon Elimimian's trash talk goes viral, but what did Fred Bennett do to inspire it?

55 Yard Line
Solomon Elimimian's trash-talk may have gone viral, but his team still lost Saturday.
Solomon Elimimian's trash-talk may have gone viral, but his team still lost Saturday.

There have been plenty of cases where on-field CFL plays have attracted huge amounts of U.S. attention, but it's much more rare to see that happen with an interview. That's what happened this weekend, though, as B.C. Lions' linebacker Solomon Elimimian was caught trash-talking Calgary defensive back Fred Bennett in Saturday night's game while TSN's Jermaine Franklin was waiting to interview him heading into the half:

Thanks partly to a Vine of it Chris O'Leary grabbed, that video has since been spotlighted everywhere from Deadspin to For The Win to Fox Sports to Bleacher Report. Elimimian yelling We don’t know who you are. Keeping walking. Bye. Keep walking. We don’t know who you are," at Bennett before seamlessly turning to Franklin with a casual "What's up?" is pretty great, and that's why this has gotten so much attention. A key question left by the video is what Bennett said to Elimimian to start this, though. Fortunately, Scott Mitchell  of The Calgary Sun is on the case: 

“I think I ran by and said something he didn’t like, and it went from there,” Bennett said Monday. “It is what it is. I stay ready. Always ready. “I never back down from a challenge of any kind, and that’s that. “It was just me all game. I was going at a lot of their players. I try to set the tone for my team, and if that’s what it took, that’s what it took. “So be it. I’ll be that guy.”

Meanwhile, as Mitchell also notes, Elimimian wasn't the only Lion taking a shot at Bennett. B.C. receiver Emmanuel Arceneaux posted this on Twitter Monday:

Trash talk is always encouraged from this corner, but it didn't exactly pay off this time. While Bennett may was beaten on that play, he and the Stampeders got the last laugh over Elimimian, Arceneaux and the Lions on the night. They won 14-7, and it was a more dominant beating than the final score suggested. Moreover, while both Elimimian and Arceneaux had solid moments in the loss, they each have things they can be criticized for too. Elimimian may have posted a game-high 10 tackles (adding to his league-leading total of 108, 45 more than second-place Calgary DB Brandon Smith), but he and the Lions' defence were run over by Jon Cornish to the tune of 156 rushing yards on 20 carries, while Arceneaux only had three catches for 39 yards in the game. So, while the trash talk may have made plenty of waves, it's Bennett and the 11-2 Stampeders who emerge from it looking much better than Elimimian and the 7-6 Lions.