NFL reportedly will allow players to write names or messages on helmet padding
Chiefs fans may be taking a closer look at the back of player helmets in the 2020 season opener against the Texans on Sept. 10.
According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, the NFL will allow players to display names of “victims of police violence and/or systemic racism on the padding along the bottom of the backs of their helmets.”
NBC Sports’ Peter King reported that players can choose from these phrases: “Stop hate,” “It takes all of us,” “End racism,” “Black lives matter.” Florio said there is an approved list of names that includes George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.
King wrote, “Far and away, expect to see ‘Breonna Taylor’ as the most common victim’s name on the back of helmets.” Taylor was shot and killed in her home by Louisville police in March.
Twitter user Paul Lukas shared a look at how the bumpers might look:
“The NFL is America’s most-watched sport,” NFL senior VP of corporate communications Traci Otey Blunt told King. “We’ve got 77 percent of our players who are African-American. We provide an opportunity for people to get away, but at the same time, this is a human issue. And we think it’s very hard to not support what we’re doing.”
This story was originally published August 31, 2020 at 8:55 AM with the headline "NFL reportedly will allow players to write names or messages on helmet padding."
