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  • 2019-10-08 (xsd:date)
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  • Was an NFL Player Fined for Wearing a 'Man of God' Headband? (en)
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  • On Sept. 22, 2019, New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis wore a headband bearing the words Man of God during a game against the Seattle Seahawks. The National Football League (NFL) ended up fining Davis $7,017 because his wearing of the headband violated the league's dress code policy, as reported by The Washington Post: It's undeniable that Davis' was fined after he wore a Man of God headband during an NFL game, but some people spread news of Davis' fine as if it documented that the league held an anti-Christian bias and/or that the penalty was predicated purely upon the Man of God message. Conservative commentator Todd Starnes, for example, suggested that the phrase Man of God (or religious expression in general) was a big no-no in the NFL: The NFL has a famously strict dress code policy that has led to the levying of some unpopular fines over the years. In 2015, two players were fined for honoring their late mothers by wearing pink and purple items (to represent causes related to domestic abuse and breast cancer) with their uniforms. In 2013, a Detroit Lions player was fined for wearing blue and black socks instead of the league-approved blue and white socks. And a few weeks after Demario Davis was fined in September 2019, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was similarly fined for wearing an Apple Watch on the sidelines. The aforementioned fines were not levied by the NFL because the league has something against charity, blue and black socks, or smartwatches. These fines were handed out because the players violated a provision of the league's five-page-long dress code policy. Here's the personal message portion of the NFL's dress code policy that relates to Davis' fine (emphasis ours): Davis was fined for displaying an unapproved personal message, regardless of its content. A player's wearing a headband bearing the words Hail Satan, Avengers Endgame Was a Bad Movie, or Trump 2020 would have, theoretically, resulted in the same penalty. It should also be noted that fines collected for dress code violations don't go to the NFL, but to two charities that support former players. The NFL also started the My Cause, My Cleats campaign in 2017, which allowed players to wear personalized cleats in support of a charity during one week of the NFL season. Demario Davis is selling Man of God and Woman of God headbands to raise money for St. Dominic's Hospital: Davis appealed the fine and on October 9, 2019 he announced that the NFL had reversed their decision: (en)
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