Tennessee Titans linebacker not allowed to wear 9/11 cleats by NFL

The NFL has dashed Tennessee Titans linebacker Avery Williamson’s plans to wear patriotic cleats for the Titans’ home opener on Sunday, September 11th.

According to the Tennessean, the NFL has informed that if Tennessee Titans linebacker Avery Williamson wears his patriotic cleats in the Titans home opener versus the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, September 11th that he would be fined for a uniform violation.

Williamson told the Tennessean Friday, “I don’t want to draw negative attention, so I’m just going to focus on playing the game. Once I heard from [the NFL], I didn’t even try to argue anything. I just left it alone. I didn’t want to press the issue.

Here is a picture of the cleats Williamson wanted to wear on Sunday.

Sunday’s home opener versus the Vikings will be the 15th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. It’s not just Williamson who planned to wear patriotic cleats on Sunday. New York Giants wide receivers Victor Cruz and Odell Beckham, Jr. were going to wear their own 9/11 commemorative cleats in the Giant’s home opener at MetLife Stadium against the Dallas Cowboys.

Williamson does plan to auction off the cleats and give the proceeds to Operation Warrior Wishes. To the highest bidder, Williamson will plan to offer “a meet and greet, two VIP tickets to a Titans home game, and an autographed jersey.”

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The NFL has a strict uniform policy and it is understandable why the league won’t let Williamson and presumably either Beckham or Cruz wear their 9/11-themed cleats. Williamson is wisely choosing to be proactive in auctioning off his shoes to not be a distraction for when the Vikings come to town for what should be an excellent Week 1 game in Nashville.