The Michigan Wolverines and Detroit Lions will take special steps this weekend to honor the victims in the Oxford High School shooting that took place in the state this week.
The Wolverines will wear a special patch in the Big Ten championship game Saturday, and the Lions will have a helmet decal and wear special T-shirts during their game against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.
The shooting occurred on Tuesday when a 15-year-old student at Oxford High School shot and killed four students and injured seven others, including a teacher.
We are proud to represent the state of Michigan and all of its communities. #OxfordStrong is #MichiganStrong pic.twitter.com/H7IoGtU7MI
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) December 3, 2021
To pay tribute to those victims and the local community, Michigan will wear a patch in the shape of a "Block O" to represent Oxford and will feature the initials "TM" and the number 42 with four blue hearts below it.
The "TM 42" pays tribute to Tate Myre, a sophomore football player at Oxford who was one of the four students killed. The other three victims being honored through the four hearts on the patch are Hana St. Juliana, a basketball and volleyball player; Madisyn Baldwin, an aspiring artist; and Justin Shilling, a member of the bowling and golf teams.
In the announcement, Michigan said, "We are proud to represent the state of Michigan and all of its communities. #OxfordStrong is #MichiganStrong."
Lions coach Dan Campbell said the team will honor the victims by wearing T-shirts, hats and a helmet decal during Sunday's home game at Ford Field. There will also be a moment of silence ahead of the contest.
"Those guys are on our minds, so we want to represent them on Sunday," Campbell said. "I know there will be a group of those students and kids and people that have been affected that will be watching this game, so right now, that's the best way to help them."
Oxford High School football coach Zach Line played for the Vikings and New Orleans Saints during his NFL career
Campbell, who was the tight ends coach with the Saints when Line played there, reached out to him after the tragedy to share his condolences.
"It's tough. There's no other way to put it," Campbell said. "And he said, 'This is a tough ordeal; this is a tough thing we're going through right now.' Rightly so."
ESPN's Eric Woodyard contributed to this report.