CANTON, Oh. (NBC SPORTS) – As Randy Moss entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday night, he made a societal statement without saying any words.
Moss wore a tie with 13 names on it. Those names were:
Greg Gunn, a 58-year-old unarmed black man who was shot and killed by white police officer Aaron Cody Smith, who is currently awaiting a murder trial.
Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old black boy who was shot and killed by a white police officer, Timothy Loehmann, while holding an airsoft gun. Loehmann was fired but not criminally charged.
Akai Gurley, a 28-year-old unarmed black man who was shot by an Asian-American police officer, Peter Liang. Liang was convicted of manslaughter and official misconduct and sentenced to five years of probation.
Paul O’Neal, an 18-year-old unarmed black man who was shot in the back as he fled a car he had stolen. Multiple officers shot at him but none were charged or publicly identified.
Eric Garner, a 43-year-old unarmed black man who was choked to death by white police officer Daniel Pantaleo during an arrest. Pantaleo was not charged.
Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died of injuries suffered while he was in the back of a police van. Caesar Goodson, the black officer who was driving the van, was charged with second-degree murder but found not guilty. Five other officers, three white and two black, were charged with lesser crimes but none were convicted.
Walter Scott, an unarmed 50-year-old black man who was shot in the back by a white police officer after a traffic stop. The officer, Michael Slager, pleaded guilty to deprivation of rights under color of law and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Sandra Bland, a 28-year-old black woman who committed suicide in a jail cell three days after being arrested during a stop for a minor traffic offense. The white officer who arrested her, Brian Encina, was indicted for perjury for making false statements about the circumstances of the arrest. The perjury charge was later dropped as part of a deal in which he agreed never to work in law enforcement again.
Akiel Denkins, a 24-year-old black man who was shot and killed in a struggle with white police officer D.C. Twiddy. Twiddy was not charged.
Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man who was shot by two white police officers who said he was reaching for the gun in his pocket. The officers were not charged.
Michael Brown, an 18-year-old unarmed black man who was shot and killed by white police officer Darren Wilson. Wilson was not charged.
Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old unarmed black boy who was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old mixed race Hispanic man who followed Martin around his neighborhood and called the police, reporting Martin as suspicious. Zimmerman was charged but acquitted under Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law.
Brendon Glenn, a 29-year-old unarmed black man who was shot and killed by black police officer Clifford Proctor. Proctor resigned from the police department but was not charged.
“You ask me about my tie,” Moss said on NFL Network after the enshrinement ceremony. “We all know what’s going on. You see the names on my tie. Being able to use a big platform like the Hall of Fame, what I wanted to be able to express with my tie is to let these families know that they’re not alone.”
