A number of folks have sent in comments and questions about the NFL not allowing the Dallas Cowboys to put their “Arm in Arm” sticker on their helmets. I’m going to share my thoughts, which I am sure will ruffle some feathers.
First, let me start by saying I am about as much NOT a football fan as you can possibly be. The last (and only) Superbowl I watched was in 1990, and I have no idea who played. For that matter, that was also the last televised football game I watched. It is not that I dislike football, I love playing, I just don’t watch sports on TV, any sport, unless it involves an internal combustion engine and tires, and then, only if they turn both ways.
Now, down to business: When I initially read that the NFL was refusing to let the Dallas Cowboys put that sticker on their helmet I was PISSED! I thought, and still do, that the idea behind the sticker was fantastic, and I seriously am grateful to the Cowboys for the thought.
That said, I think the decision by the NFL is 100% correct, and it is totally consistent with their past decisions on similar issues. Or at least that is my understanding from what I have read. Let me explain.
The NFL has very strict guidelines about the uniforms the players wear, all the way down to the black stuff some players put under their eyes to help with glare. Stickers that are not team or NFL related are not allowed. In the past, players have even gotten in trouble for wearing something promoting such positive movements or activities as breast cancer awareness. Bearing that in mind, it is absolutely consistent that the NFL rules the way they did in this case.
Also, consider the alternative. The NFL allows the Cowboys to but this sticker on their helmet. That would mean they would have to allow Saint Louis to put “Black Lives Matter” stickers on their helmets (if they so chose). Later on, some other team decides to put a “Fuck the Police” sticker on their helmet, the NFL would have to allow that, or they would be called out for discriminating against one side or the other. The only logical decision to avoid that is the one they made, to not allow any stickers.
-Matt