Cleats honoring Colin Kaepernick and referring to police officers as "pigs" are A-OK with the National Football League, but Christmas-themed shoes are worthy of a significant fine. Just ask the New Orleans Saints' Alvin Kamara, who was fined $6,076 for spreading Christmas cheer on the football field last week.
Declaring "tis the season," Kamara wore red and white cleats with red stockings in an NFL game played on Christmas eve. “I just feel like its Christmas, everybody’s in the Christmas spirit, so why not?”
Kamara, a rookie running back who played collegiately at the University of Tennessee, said he hoped the NFL would not issue him a fine. Teammate Mark Ingram urged the league to not be a “Grinch”, but their pleas were met by cold hearts.
Not everyone was in the Christmas spirit. In fact, few, if any, in the league office were. The league sent him a letter informing him he was being fined for wearing unauthorized gear that didn't match the Saints' team colors. The Grinch's heart was two sizes too small, but it was huge compared to the NFL's ticker!
"Unfortunately The Grinch stole Christmas!!" Kamara responded. "After the game I said that I would make a GoFundMe for the fine and donate the proceeds to charity sooooo.... here we are! A donation will be made to Willie Hall playgrounds recreational department to provide cleats for their youth football programs."
Kamara tweeted a photo of the letter he received from the league informing him of the fine. For first offenses of uniform rules, the NFL Grinch's punish players to the sour tune of a $6,076 fine.
Earlier this season, the NFL allowed players to wear themed football cleats for one weekend to promote their favorite charities. One player made news for having cleats designed that honored Kaepernick and included an image of a pig in reference to the unsigned football pariah's insult of police officers. Even though that player was unable to play due to an injury, his cleats caused no stir in the NFL Grinch's high command.
It's acceptable to the PC National Football League for its players to protest the national anthem in the work place, but a small celebration of Christmas in the work place is a punishable offense.
The Christmastime fine is a fitting end to a season with a long list of public relations blunders by the NFL, which seemed to do everything it could to damage its brand and its popularity in 2017. NBC Sports, 247Sports, USA Today and other media sympathetic to Kaepernick reported the Kamara story with no mention of the league's hypocrisy.
Bah humbug to the NFL! And here's a large lump of coal for the league, too!
