Last weekend, San Francisco 49ers star pass rusher Nick Bosa interrupted his teammates’ interview to display his “Make American Great Again” hat to television cameras. And it sounds like he is expected to be punished by the league as a result.
NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk fully expects Nick Bosa to be punished for the political display.
“Bosa can avoid discipline only if the league office approved the hat in advance. That obviously didn’t happen. If the league office had approved the hat in advance, there would be nothing for the league to currently review,” Florio wrote.
And Florio does not expect any perceived loophole to save Bosa, either.
“The supposed loophole comes from the portion of the rule that focuses on the league-office approval process: ‘The League will not grant permission for any club or player to wear, display, or otherwise convey messages, through helmet decals, arm bands, jersey patches, mouthpieces, or other items affixed to game uniforms or equipment, which relate to political activities or causes, other non-football events, causes or campaigns, or charitable causes or campaigns,'” Florio wrote.
“The argument is that, because that sentence doesn’t include the word ‘hat,’ messages on hats are OK. This overlooks the fact that there’s already a broad prohibition on all messages, and that the failure to specifically include ‘hat’ among ‘helmet decals, arm bands, jersey patches, mouthpieces, or other items affixed to game uniforms or equipment’ relates only to the approval process,” Florio wrote. “It could just as easily be argued that the omission of the word ‘hat’ means that the league will never approve any personal messaging on hats, for any reason.”
Florio notes that it didn’t matter which candidate he supported with his hat, it would be a violation of league policy regardless, and he would be punished.
It’s worth noting that in addition to his career as a prominent NFL insider, Florio also has a law degree from West Virginia University, so he is well-versed on legal loopholes.
The NFL does actually allow players to speak on their political beliefs during press conferences, but Bosa declined to elaborate on his 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 what Bosa’s punishment includes.
