The NFL is "relaxing its strict guidelines on footwear" in a continuing effort to allow players to "greater express their personality," according to Darren Rovell of ESPN.com. A league memo sent yesterday to coaches and equipment managers shows that players will be "allowed to wear more personalized cleats for pre-game prior to warm-ups and will have greater flexibility on cleat color worn during the game." Players during warm-ups can "wear any design they want, so long as it doesn't depict commercialized or trademarked logos, other than the league-approved footwear brands (Nike, Under Armour and Adidas)." The cleats also "can't have anything that would be deemed offensive or express political views." The league previously fined players who "wore non-conforming cleats in pregame." The NFL "relaxed its rules for a week in 2016, allowing players to design their own cleats for a charity of their choice in Week 13" (ESPN.com, 8/15).
YOU MIGHT BE ON TO SOMETHING: MLB later the month will hold its Players Weekend in which players can wear jerseys with nicknames on them, and in Toronto, Steve Simmons wrote he would be in favor of a similar promo in the NHL "so I could see Kaner and Tayser on the same team with Keefer and Crow." Simmons: "Or you could watch the Leafs with Gards and Riels and Matts and Andy and Brownie" (TORONTO SUN, 8/13).
