DK Metcalf to Honor Emmett Till with Helmet Decal in 2020 Season
DK Metcalf won't be forgetting his home state from over 2,000 miles away.
Metcalf, a former Ole Miss star and Oxford, Miss. native, will be wearing a decal on the back of his Seattle Seahawks helmet during this upcoming season to honor Emmett Till. A 14-year African-American, Till was kidnapped and lynched in Money, Miss. in 1955 after being accused of flirting with and offending a white woman in a grocery store.
His killing would become a platform moment in the civil rights movement, particularly within the state.
"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."
According to Seahawks beat writer Greg Bell with The News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash., Metcalf is one of a few Seahawks players to include player-specific decals on their helmets. The team as a whole will wear shirts that read “We Want Justice” during warmups and pre-game activities throughout the season.
For Metcalf, it's an opportunity to raise awareness of social justice issues. For a kid born and raised in Mississippi, who attended Ole Miss, it's an opportunity to bring the issue home.
League wide, the helmet decals are part of an NFL-wide initiative for the upcoming season, allowing players to choice to don their helmets with messages such as the one Metcalf will wear.
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