Titans LB Avery Williamson yesterday "came out of the tunnel wearing his custom patriotic cleats for the season opener against the Vikings," despite being informed by the league about a "looming fine for violating uniform code," according to Jason Wolf of the Nashville TENNESSEAN. Williamson "originally planned to wear the cleats to honor those who died," but "changed his mind" when the NFL called him. But he then "changed his mind once again Saturday night after The Tennessean's report about the situation went viral." Several of Williamson's teammates "offered to help pay the fine if he wore the cleats, as did four New York and New Jersey police associations." Williamson said that he wore the plain cleats to "avoid NFL representatives approaching him before the game." He said that Titans GM Jon Robinson and coach Mike Mularkey were "supportive of his decision." Williamson: "I just didn’t want it to be a distraction, and they were fine with it, so I went ahead and did it." Williamson's "white-striped Nike swooshes" feature the words "'Never Forget' and '9/11' on the back of the shoes, with the '11' representing the Twin Towers." The NFL "mandates all teammates wear the same color scheme on their shoes" (Nashville TENNESSEAN, 9/12). In N.Y., Emily Saul notes Giants WRs Odell Beckham Jr. and Victor Cruz yesterday "paid their respects to the victims of 9/11 ... by wearing the patriotic commemorative cleats." Beckham’s special cleats were "red, white and blue and emblazoned with the bust of a bald eagle." Cruz’ cleats had "red and white stripes splashed with blue-star accents." Beckham’s shoes "portrayed the Twin Towers," while Cruz featured a "fire-truck theme that featured his late father’s engine number." The NFL fine "for a first offense is $6,076" (N.Y. POST, 9/12).
