Pittsburgh Steelers' DeAngelo Williams sought permission from the National Football League (NFL) to wear pink for the season, but the league shot down the running back's request, saying that he should stick with the uniform policy.
According to Bleacher Report, Williams wanted to honor his mother, Sandra Hill, who died due to breast cancer in May 2014. Williams also lost four aunts to the disease, which is why the professional athlete hopes to raise awareness.
October is the month for breast cancer awareness and according to Huffington Post, the league is alright with wearing pink on game day, but only for this duration. Except, Williams wants to go beyond this and make it his commitment to wear pink for the entire season. "It's not just about October for me; it's not just a month, it's a lifestyle. It's about getting women to recognize to get tested," Williams told ESPN.
"DeAngelo Williams was told over the phone by NFL vice president of football operations Troy Vincent that he couldn't wear pink accessories throughout the season because there are no exceptions to the uniform policy," reported CBS.
In ditching his team's standard uniform and wearing pink, Williams could be violating NFL rules, which have been outlined in the rulebook. If Williams doesn't follow this, he would have to pay a $5,787 fine, Yahoo Sports reported.
Williams has been creative in circumventing the rules as he has already dyed his hair and painted his toenails in pink in the past. "The hair, it's part of the uniform from the standpoint of being tackled, but it's not specific on what color it has to be or if it has to match the uniform," he said, according to ESPN.
This controversy isn't the first incident about breast cancer awareness that the league had to address. Back in October, the money the NFL raised for breast cancer research didn't go to the intended, according to Huffington Post. Instead, about $1.1 million was donated to the American Cancer Society, for breast cancer screenings and not research according to Vice.
"Screening doesn't save lives and screening mammography... is different from diagnostic mammography," advocate Karuna Jaggar told the news outlet. "The NFL has no business providing medical advice to women that is outdated, unproven, and misguided."
"There's definitely a lot of hypocrisy in the NFL trying to choose a popular charity when there are other significant problems within the league," Jagger further pointed out.
