UNC took the field Friday afternoon for their biggest game of the season looking to send two messages. The first was that the program is on the way to their goal of sustained national prominence. The second, and much more important, was the goal of shedding light on social justice issues that were important to them.
Instead of donning their names on the back of their jerseys, 80 members of the Tar Heel football team shared messages like Black Lives Matter, Equality, How Many More, Peace and Say Their Names – acknowledging and showing support for the continued fight for equality and against police brutality in this country.
The team planned the show of solidarity for their opening game against Charlotte, but the stage was not impactful enough.
“It was an idea we came up with that everybody wanted to do,” Tar Heel running back Michael Carter said after the game. “At first it was going to be for the Charlotte game, but we felt like it wasn’t going to be a big enough crowd. We moved it to the Notre Dame game, because we knew we would be on ABC and we wanted everybody to see it.”
“I put Say Their Names” Carter continued, “because I feel a lot of times when you see a black person die at the hands of the police or social injustice happens, it’s a hashtag for a couple of weeks and then people move on. Having “say their names” on the back of my jersey is a reminder to keep the conversation going and make sure they don’t die in vain, that they leave a legacy behind and we learn from it.”
The notion that athletes should just “shut up and dribble” is something these Heels won’t conform to. On the field they’re all young men with a common goal, but their experiences away from the gridiron vary based on the color of their skin, background, socio-economic status and location. The juxtaposition of using the same equalizing platform that binds them to bring awareness to the inequality they face away from it is a powerful message.
Here is the full list of players and messages they wore on the back on their jerseys.
Kedrick Bingley-Jones 41 A. ARBERY
Will Crowley 80 ALLY
Jake Harkleroad 26 ALLY
Giovanni Biggers 27 BLACK LIVES MATTER
Desmond Evans 10 BLACK LIVES MATTER
Josh Henderson 23 BLACK LIVES MATTER
Kevin Hester 98 BLACK LIVES MATTER
Malik McGowan 64 BLACK LIVES MATTER
Kyler McMichael 1 BLACK LIVES MATTER
Trey Morrison 4 BLACK LIVES MATTER
Asim Richards 72 BLACK LIVES MATTER
Welton Spottsville 14 BLACK LIVES MATTER
William Barnes 76 BLM
Marcus McKethan 73 BLM
Lancine Turay 58 BLM
Clyde Pinder 55 BREONNA TAYLOR
Ben Kiernan 91 COMHIONANNAS (IRISH FOR EQUALITY)
Cam’Ron Kelly 9 DON’T BE SILENT
Jefferson Boaz 14 EQUALITY
Adam Buck 94 EQUALITY
Austin Chrismon 28 EQUALITY
Chris Collins 17 EQUALITY
Tylee Craft 13 EQUALITY
Colby Doreen 87 EQUALITY
Val Edwards 38 EQUALITY
Jeremiah Gemmel 44 EQUALITY
Gray Goodwyn 89 EQUALITY
Ed Montilus 63 EQUALITY
Patrice Rene 5 EQUALITY
Will Robertson 40 EQUALITY
Landon Stevens 85 EQUALITY
Chazz Surratt 21 EQUALITY
Ray Vohasek 51 EQUALITY
Ethan West 24 EQUALITY
Tomari Fox 56 FEAR
Mason Laurence 32 FOLLOW GOD
Quiron Johnson 69 FOOTE (DAD’S LAST NAME)
Christopher Holliday 18 H. GANTT
Antoine Green 3 HEAR US
Austyn Chestnut 19 HOW MANY MORE
Beau Corrales 15 HOW MANY MORE
Cedric Gray 33 HOW MANY MORE
D.J. Jones 26 HOW MANY MORE
Justin Olson 83 HOW MANY MORE
Jordan Tucker 74 HUMAN RACE
Khafre Brown 1 I CAN’T BREATHE
Josh Downs 11 I CAN’T BREATHE
Tyrone Hopper 42 I CAN’T BREATHE
Brian Anderson 68 JOHN 3:16
Dyami Brown 2 KINGS AND QUEENS
Spencer Triplett 62 MERRITT (UNCLE WHO PASSED AWAY)
Kamari Morales 88 OLUWATOYIN SALAU
Noah Burnette 98 ONE LOVE
Cayden Baker 57 PEACE
British Brooks 36 PEACE
Sam Howell 7 PEACE
Drew Little 61 PEACE
Tobechi Nwokeji 66 PEACE
Ray Rose 9 PEACE
Jeffrey Saturday 29 PEACE
Jahlil Taylor 52 PEACE
Kristian Varner 93 PEACE
Toe Groves 4 PRISON REFORM
Khadry Jackson 8 PROTECT BLACK LIVES
Dazz Newsome 5 SAY HER NAME
Noland Brown 70 SAY HER NAME
Joshua Ezeudu 75 SAY HER NAME
Ladeason Hollins 15 SAY HER NAME
Michael Carter 8 SAY THEIR NAMES
Tomon Fox 12 SAY THEIR NAMES
Don Chapman 2 SOUTHEAST
Emery Simmons 0 TOLERANCE
Eugene Asante 7 TRANQUILITY
Xach Gill 90 UNARMED
Ja’Qurious Conley 0 UNCLE DAN
Carson Burgess 35 UNITY
Parks Cochrane 49 UNITY
Dilan Gonzalez 48 UNITY
British Brooks 34 WE MATTER
Alex Nobles 97 WE MATTER
