He attended Minneapolis Washburn High School where he played several sports; in American football he was team captain, All-Conference, All-Metro, and ranked third in state in tackles; he also captained his high school rugby team to the Minnesota High School State Championship.
[2] Bender was recruited and offered a scholarship in 2010 to play American football as a linebacker for the NCAA Division II St.
[2] Bender signed a contract in early 2012 to play rugby for the U.S. national team.
[3] Bender was part of the U.S. squad at the 2015 Pan American Games that qualified to play in the 2016 Olympics.
[2] He joined the Seattle Seawolves team for the inaugural season of Major League Rugby in 2018.