Six years ago, running back Reggie Bush tried to persuade the league to adjust its jersey rules to allow him to wear No. 5 in the NFL. The effort went nowhere. And so Bush adopted No. 25, after finagling it from Fred McAfee. (Bush now wears No. 22 in Miami.)
This year, the NFL quietly has adjusted its rules to permit the use of Roman numerals on the jersey of quarterback Robert Griffin III.
It should have been obvious 29 days ago, when Griffin held up a jersey that showed “Griffin III” on the nameplate. But only recently has it been reported that the rules actually were changed to permit players to include “Jr.” and “III.”
Presumably, it also will allow a player with a son named after him to add “Sr.” to the back of his jersey.