Another week, another fine for a Steelers player who promotes a good cause by violating the league’s mostly rigid uniform policy.
From defensive end Cameron Heyward to running back DeAngelo Williams to cornerback William Gay, all three have been fined in recent weeks for deviating from a commitment to uniformity from which the league deviates every October (for breast cancer awareness) and November (for the Salute to Service). On Sunday, receiver Antonio Brown wore a pink mouthpiece after the conclusion of the league’s designated breast cancer awareness month.
The fine, when it inevitably comes, will spark additional criticism of the league -- criticism that to an extent the league brings on itself by allowing deviation from the uniform policies in the first place. But there’s a deeper issue here, involving an apparent revolt by Steelers players against the league office, and an apparent unwillingness or inability by team management to ensure compliance.
While it’s difficult for the team’s equipment staff to prevent a player from writing messages onto the strips worn under his eyes, the folks responsible for outfitting the players have a more direct role in Gay wearing purple shoes and/or Brown using a pink mouthpiece. The fact that no one with the team is stopping the players from not conforming suggests that the players feel strongly about this, and it’s possibly something that traces back to the team’s mass rejection of the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement.
It also possibly comes from the fact that the league mandates that players dress a certain way and only the league can determine when the rules will have exceptions. It’s possible that the players want to have a say in the way the league deviates from the rules regarding uniformity -- or that the players crave the ability to select a cause or two that will be promoted in addition to the causes exclusively selected by the league.
Either way, there’s an intriguing battle going on between Steelers players and the league office, and it’ll be interesting to see whether the NFL can come up with a way to get the players to comply with the rules without instigating an even broader fight.
