New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. recently came out to say that the National Football League (NFL) failed to get the message of his decision to wear cleats last month as a way of showing his respect to the late and beloved broadcaster Craig Sager.
Sager died in the second week of December from acute myeloid leukemia at the age of 65 and as a tribute to him, Beckham decided to wear cleats during a game in the name of a charity.
But his gesture did not suit well with the strict uniform policy of the NFL so he was immediately fined by the league for $18,000 for wearing the cleats on December 18 in their match against the Detroit Lions. The Giants prevailed over the Lions in the game with the score of 17-6.
The decision of the NFL stemmed from an Instagram post by Washington Redskins wideout DeSean Jackson, who was also venting about a fine for violating the uniform policy, notes Yahoo! Sports.
Beckham intended to auction his cleats off after the game and donate the proceeds to the SagerStrong Foundation for cancer research.
In a post on social media after the fine was levied on him, Beckham said that his fans should not worry that he got fined $18,000 for Craig Sager. He added that the clears were auctioned off to the highest bidder and donated the proceeds to cancer research.
He also lamented that $18,000 is like nothing to the NFL and no warning to take them off or anything.
On December 22, he once again posted on Twitter by saying that the $18,000 was meted to him without a single warning but the world would never know the NFL acts like it is no big deal. He said that the league has no respect for the message.
Not a new policy
With the decision of the league on Odell Beckham Jr., NFL players should also expect to be fined at this point.
The strict uniform policy is nothing new, as the league even fined DeAngelo Williams for wearing eyeblack with a pink ribbon and the words ‘Find the Cure’ in an attempt to raise breast cancer awareness during ‘Breast Cancer Awareness Month’ back in 2015.
But the league blurred those lines by grating players permission to wear cleats in support of charity in Week 13 and apparently allowed Pittsburg Steelers receiver Antonio Brown to wear cleats in honor of Arnold Palmer on October 2.
The NFL then reportedly forced Brown to remove Muhammad Ali-themed cleats one week later. It can be confusing to keep track of what constitutes a fine in the NFL, critics note.
One glaring example is when the Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott was not fined for jumping into a Salvation Army kettle following a score on a game on December 18, which caught the eye of several players, including Beckham.
Fines should just go straight to charity
Critics note that it is really strange to have the foresight to expect a fine, and then complain about that fine when it comes, but that doesn’t mean the NFL’s policy is perfect either.
Granted, fines don’t go directly to the league office as they are reportedly pooled to support ex-players through two foundations, but the NFL and its players should simply come to an agreement on such point of contention.
If the NFL must fine players who wear non-compliant cleats to support charity, those fines should just go to that charity. They believe that Beckham’s $18,000 fine just go to the SagerStrong Foundation because that would really make sense.
Beckham’s violation of non-conforming uniform policy was also questioned by some because he wore them only during warm-ups and not during the game.
The New York Giants receiver is now in the third year of a four-year, $10.4 million contract and will earn a base salary of $1.36 million in the current season. He was selected to his third Pro Bowl in November after overcoming a slow start to the 2016 campaign of the New York Giants, details The Guardian.