Some of you might have wondered how the NFL decided to permit players to wear pink cleats and other accessories during the month of October.
According to Steve Reed of CarolinaGrowl.com, the idea for the promotion of breast cancer awareness came not from some tie-wearing exec on Park Avenue, but from a member of the rank and file.
Running back DeAngelo Williams, per Reed, petitioned the league during the offseason for permission to wear pink cleats to help the cause.
“It means something to a lot of people affected by it,” Williams said. “Families and the people actually affected by it. Nothing is stronger than wearing pink on the thing that keeps you going in the National Football League and that’s your cleats. . . . Because if you don’t have a firm foot in the ground you’re going to slip.”
The fact that the uniform-obsessed NFL made the gesture in the first place was significant on its own; the fact that the idea came from one of the league’s player makes it an even bigger deal, in our view.