In another step to bring awareness to issues concerning social injustice, racism and police brutality, Seahawks players and coaches this year will wear decals on helmets and patches on hats honoring victims and displaying phrases, the team announced Friday.
Specific phrases that players and coaches will display include “Black Lives Matter,” “End Racism,” “It takes All of Us” and “Stop Hate.”
The team will also wear shirts during pregame warmups that read “We Want Justice,” an effort organized by veteran linebacker K.J. Wright.
“I’m really passionate about this, I’m really passionate about my people,” Wright said via Seahawks.com. “To have this message out there, to have fans see it every day, to have my teammates embrace it, it’s a powerful message. It’s simple, it’s clear, we just want justice, plain and simple.”
A feature story on the team’s website announcing the initiative stated that among the people who will be honored this year, many with names on players helmets, include Emmett Till, Trayvon Martin, Sandra Bland, Charleena Lyles, Ahmaud Arbery, Manuel Ellis, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Jacob Blake.
Receiver DK Metcalf told Seahawks.com that he will wear the name of Till on the back of his helmet this season. Till was 14 when he was murdered in Mississippi in 1955.
“I chose Emmett Till, mainly because he was from Mississippi, I’m from Mississippi, and systematic racism has been going on for quite some time,” Metcalf said. “We’re still talking about it today after 65 years, so it’s still a big problem that we’ve got to fix.”
Seahawks.com also noted that center Ethan Pocic will have George Floyd’s name on his helmet, and linebacker Ben Burr-Kirven will honor Breonna Taylor on his helmet.
“When somebody gets shot asleep in their house on a no-knock warrant, something has to change,” Burr-Kirven, who played at the University of Washington, told Seahawks.com.
“The way the news cycle works, it’s easy for things to fall out of the news and for people to forget,” he continued. “And you can’t forget what happened, you have to make something change, so the best way to keep this in the news and keep people paying attention is to put in a place where millions of people are going to see it every weekend when we play.”
The announcement comes six days after the Seahawks decided to cancel a practice after coach Pete Carroll held a long meeting with players.
Afterward, Carroll delivered a roughly 15-minute statement to media on speaking out, racism, voting and listening to Black athletes.
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Just play football.