While the Raiders are notorious for trying to shake things up among pro football ranks, in the case of Ken Stabler’s Hall of Fame induction, they may have a point.
Since Stabler’s enshrinement came posthumously — he died July 8, 2015 — it does not come with the gold jacket and ring traditionally given to new members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It’s the Hall of Fame’s policy to issue the gifts only to inductees who are still alive.
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The Raiders and Stabler’s family are calling bollocks, and Raiders owner Mark Davis is lobbying for the policy to be changed.
"No way I should have my dad's ring and Bruce Allen doesn't have his dad's," Davis told ESPN.com in a phone interview. "No way I should have my dad's ring and Junior Seau's family doesn't have his. Same with Dick Stanfell's family, and Kenny's family. The guys earned it and their families should get to enjoy it. This is an injustice that has to be rectified."
A series of tweets involving Kendra Stabler-Moyes, the Snake’s daughter, helped bring the issue to public consciousness.
A Twitter user named Jim Ross wondered when Stabler’s family was going to receive his Hall of Fame ring, and his tweets caught Kendra’s attention (via Deadspin).
@JimRoss93366948 @ProFootballHOF @ChicagoBears @KayJewelers @ESPNMondayNight sadly, my Dad does not get a ring.
— Kendra Stabler Moyes (@KendraSMoyes) November 3, 2016
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While Stabler-Moyes said the family did receive a framed crest that is emblazoned on the gold jackets, she is less than satisfied with the explanation Hall of Fame president David Baker offered her father’s longtime girlfriend, Kim Ross-Bush, about why families don't get a jacket or ring.
"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."