Whether it’s the pigmentation of the shoe clashing with penalty flags, the league’s very own My Cause My Cleats campaign, or simply the more fashionable pairs that players wear during pregame warm-ups, there’s no denying that football cleats are the most widely contested piece of game day attire. If you need another example, look no further than Maxx Crosby, who was just forced to change his cleats mid-game while competing against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 15.
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“The NFL was crying and forced me to take my shoes off,” he explained during the latest episode of his self-titled podcast. Crosby was sporting a custom pair of pink Jordan 11 cleats that were intended to represent his daughter, Ella.
The premier pass rusher expected to receive a fine for the flamboyant coloring, and he 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.”
While preparing to go onto the field for the next defensive series, Crosby then suddenly noticed the team’s equipment manager. He was 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 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 will now be his final game-day rep in those customized cleats, and while that would be a beautiful ending to this story, Crosby is refusing to let the matter end there.
“I’m going to talk to my guy Roger [Goodell] when I see him,” Crosby remarked. “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. 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.”
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 athletes rather than the billionaire owners. And with enough shift in public perception, things could finally begin to change, so he shouldn’t be faulted for his willingness to fight the good fight either.
