(CBS Sports) Steelers offensive lineman Alejandro Villanueva chose to cover the name of police shooting victim Antwon Rose Jr. on the back of his helmet during Pittsburgh’s game against the New York Giants on “Monday Night Football.” Villanueva chose instead to write the name Alwyn Cashe, a veteran who died during the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2005.
As the NFL has allowed players to wear helmet decals honoring the victims of systemic racism, the Steelers decided as a team to honor Rose — a Black teenager shot in the back by a white police officer in Pittsburgh in 2018 after he ran from a vehicle that was pulled over — for the entirety of the season. The now-former East Pittsburgh officer was charged with murder, but a jury found him not guilty in March 2019.