Last month, San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa went viral for showing his “Make American Great Again” hat during his teammates’ television interview after a game. And it sounds like the league is in the midst of deciding whether or not to punish him for it.
According to a report from Mark Maske of the Washington Post, the NFL is investigating the situation to determine whether or not he will receive a punishment.
“The NFL is reviewing the 49ers’ Nick Bosa wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat during NBC’s postgame interviews Sunday night. Bosa is not facing a suspension but could be fined for violating NFL rules, source says. No decision is expected before next week,” Maske said in a post on X, the social media website that was formerly known as Twitter.
Maske went on to explain why it appears that Bosa violated the league rules.
“Under NFL rules, players are ‘prohibited from wearing, displaying, or otherwise conveying personal messages either in writing or illustration, unless such message has been approved in advance by the League office,’ he wrote in a follow-up post. “Those rules apply to game days whenever a player ‘is visible to the stadium and television audience (including in pregame warm-ups, in the bench area, and during postgame interviews in the locker room or on the field).'”
And given the situation, it’s pretty clear that Bosa violated those rules.
“Nick Bosa appeared in NBC’s camera shot, wearing the hat, as the network was conducting a postgame interview Sunday night with Brock Purdy, George Kittle and Isaac Guerendo,” Masked wrote in another post. “NFL rules say the league ‘will not grant permission for any club or player to wear, display, or otherwise convey messages… which relate to political activities or causes, other non-football events, causes or campaigns, or charitable causes or campaigns.'”
While Bosa’s hat was against the rules, the NFL does not prohibit players from speaking on their political views during their press conferences. However, Bosa chose not to elaborate on his stance after his political display.
“I’m not gonna talk too much about it,” Bosa told reporters. “But I think it’s an important time.”
We’ll have to see whether or not Bosa is indeed punished by the league.
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