Before last night’s wild-card game between the Lions and Saints, NBC aired an interview of Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford by Bob Costas.
Several (including more than a few Patriots fans) pointed out that Stafford was wearing a backward hat that displayed the MLB logo, not an item of NFL-sanctioned apparel. Pats fans are particularly sensitive to the subject because receiver Wes Welker recently was slapped with a $10,000 fine for wearing an unauthorized hat.
As league spokesman Greg Aiello explained Saturday night via email, the prohibition against unapproved headgear applies only to formal media availability and game-day interviews.
And the league doesn’t mess around when it comes to these issues. Five years ago, Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher was fined $100,000 for wearing a Vitamin Water hat to a Super Bowl media event.