Whether it’s the color of the shoe clashing with penalty flags, the NFL’s very own ‘My Cause My Cleats’ campaign, or the fashionable pairs that players wear during pregame warm-ups, football cleats have been the most controversial game-day attire. And Maxx Crosby is the latest player in the eye of the cleats storm after he was forced to change his footwear mid-game while competing against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15.
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Crosby was sporting a custom pair of pink Jordan 11 cleats that were intended to represent his daughter, Ella. “The NFL was crying and forced me to take my shoes off,” Crosby said on the latest episode of his self-titled podcast.
The premier pass rusher had expected to receive a fine for the flamboyant coloring and was more than prepared to pay it. “I’ll take the fine,” Crosby explained. “I don’t care.” But then something strange happened.
“They didn’t say anything in warmup… I played the first couple of series. They didn’t say anything,” narrated Crosby.
While preparing to go onto the field for the next defensive series, Crosby noticed the team’s equipment manager standing on the sidelines with a fresh pair of white cleats tucked under his arm.
“I was like, f**k. I know they f**king called about my cleats. I went up to Nico, and I’m like, ‘What? They are b**ching about it?’ He said, ‘Well, they are going to take you out of the game if you don’t change your cleats,‘” he recalled.
Crosby, who called the NFL’s cleat policy an “old-school approach”, decided that he was going to finish the drive first, and he did. The 28-year-old managed to record a sack in what was his final game-day rep in those customized cleats. While things normally would have ended there, Crosby is refusing to let the matter go.
“I’m going to talk to my guy Roger [Goodell] when I see him,” Crosby continued. “I want to wear what I wear…. I’m going to make sure it’s known.”
The four-time Pro Bowler then compared the NFL and its strict uniform policies to those of the National Basketball Association, which he believes to be the bastion for player autonomy. “The one thing that the NBA has over the NFL is the individual part… And the way they express themselves in a different way is with signature shoes and what they are rocking on their feet,” Crosby said.
“The jerseys are one thing, but the colors on the shoes can be anything… I just feel like that’s something in football that they are missing. They are way too old school with that approach,” he added.
Unfortunately for Crosby, many players have tried and failed to get the NFL to loosen its restrictions on vibrant-colored and customized cleats. So it’s unlikely that his attempt will be any different.
But again, this is now one more incident in which fans will likely side with the athlete rather than the billionaire owners. And with enough shift in public perception, things could finally begin to change. So Crosby shouldn’t be faulted for fighting the good battle either.
