It’s an ‘injustice’ that the Pro Football Hall of Fame won’t give Ken Stabler’s family his jacket or ring

A long-standing Pro Football Hall of Fame policy has denied the families of honorees from receiving the iconic yellow jacket and Hall of Fame ring for those posthumously inducted, and Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis says it’s a problem that needs to be fixed.

“No way I should have my dad’s ring and Bruce Allen doesn’t have his dad’s,” Davis told ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez, referring to Hall of Famers Al Davis and George Allen. “No way I should have my dad’s ring and Junior Seau’s family doesn’t have his. Same with Dick Stanfel’s family, and Kenny [Stabler]‘s family.

“The guys earned it and their families should get to enjoy it. This is an injustice that has to be rectified.”

On Monday, Oscar-winning actor and life-long Raiders fan Tom Hanks joined the chorus of people calling for the Hall to give Stabler’s family his due.

The policy was cast into the spotlight when Stabler’s daughter, Kendra Stabler Moyes, took to Twitter on Friday to say that the Hall of Fame didn’t give the jacket or ring to the Stabler family:

According to Moyers, the Hall of Fame explained to Stabler’s girlfriend, Kim Ross-Bush, the reasoning for the policy:

“She was told the Hall did not want families fighting over it or selling it,” Stabler Moyes told ESPN. “That is the biggest cop-out — a poor excuse. It’s nobody’s business what families do behind closed doors.”

The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Board of Trustees is responsible for the policies of the Hall and features people like NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and owners Jimmy Haslam, Jerry Jones and Dan Snyder, among others.

Stabler played 10 seasons for the Oakland Raiders, earning four trips to the Pro Bowl, before winding down his career with the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints. He retired after the 1984 season and died in July 2015 of colon cancer at age 69.

Future Hall of Famer and Raiders legend Charles Woodson agrees: