Avery Williamson, a star player for the Tennessee Titans, had some special shoes made to wear in the game scheduled for 9/11. They are red, white and blue, with “Never Forget” on the heel of one shoe and “9/11” on the other one. He thought it would be a great gesture to acknowledge the attack and America’s resiliency. That’s when the NFL stepped in and threatened him with a six thousand dollar fine if he decided to wear them.
Two New York City police union bosses offered to pay the fine but the NFL got to Williamson, who decided to auction the shoes off with the proceeds going to Operation Warrior Wishes. He is also including a meet and greet, an autographed jersey and two tickets to the game.
A True Hero
Patriot
So, the NFL is okay with players who disrespect America and it’s flag but patriotism is an unforgivable sin. F*&k the NFL #BoycottNFL
“I don’t want to draw negative attention, so I’m just going to focus on playing the game,” Williamson told The Tennessean on Friday. “Once I heard from them, I didn’t even try to argue anything. I just left it alone. I didn’t want to press the issue.”
The star-spangled blue cleats with red- and white-striped Nike swooshes were airbrushed by True Blue Customs in Lexington, Ky. They feature the words “Never Forget” and “9/11” on the back of each shoe, with the “11” representing the Twin Towers. The NFL mandates all teammates wear the same color scheme on their shoes.
Williamson is instead auctioning the cleats to benefit Operation Warrior Wishes, plus offering a meet and greet, two VIP tickets to a Titans home game and an autographed jersey.
“I’m going to try to get a couple of veterans to come to a game,” Williamson said. “I feel like just reaching out to people, helping them, somebody that’s served our country, I feel like that’s a great honor, so I wanted to do something nice for them. I feel like it’s a great cause.”