These days, he scans the field as one of the NFLs 64 uniform inspectors former players assigned to a teams home games to ensure that both clubs comply with the leagues uniform rules.
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Learn more about the NFL's compliance policy
Morris starts roaming the field at Giants home games during warm-ups, keeping a close watch for violations. When the league mandated thigh and knee pads as a protective measure, for example, he had to make sure that players were actually using them.
What Im trying to do is from my eye, my naked eye, I have to be able to discern that theres a thigh [pad] and knee [pad] there and I have to be able to see it clearly, Morris told the NFL Networks Around the League program in .
A lot of guys dont like it, he said, referring to the pad requirement. This is a good rule. Its sensible. Its trying to protect the players.
Compliance with the uniform rules helps the league to protect players from injury, maintain competitive balance, create a professional appearance and protect the leagues business partnerships.
As an example, for the season the NFL banned the use of nonstandard or overbuilt face masks unless players can prove the need for a medical exemption from the rules. Research shows that the added weight negatively affects the helmets structural integrity and fatigues the neck extensors, potentially putting players at risk for injury.
The NFL denied Khalil Macks request to continue using the overbuilt face mask he wore in college but granted Justin Tucks request for a medical exemption, so he can keep wearing his. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) (AP Photo/Paul Jasienski)
If a player suffers from migraines or is sensitive to sunlight, hell need a medical exemption to put a tinted visor on his helmet as a replacement for the permitted clear visor. The restriction isnt arbitrary; at times, medical personnel need to see an injured players eyes without removing his helmet, and tinted visors interfere with that.
A players appearance on the field conveys a message regarding the image of the league and directly affects the leagues reputation and success, the NFLs Game Operations Manual states. All players must tuck in their jerseys. They cannot wear bandannas. Stockings must be white from the top of the shoe to midcalf and an approved team color from midcalf to the bottom of the pant leg, which must be pulled down below the knee.
What to Wear
On Oct. 26, , the Pittsburgh Steelers took the field against the Indianapolis Colts wearing their throwback jerseys black and yellow stripes, resembling a bumblebee. It wasnt a spur-of-the-moment fashion choice; the decision was made at least four months before the game, and it needed the approval of the NFL.
By July 1, each club had to declare to NFL Football Operations which jersey color it wanted to wear (either white or the official team color) for each of its home games in the coming season. Visiting clubs must wear the opposite, based on the home teams choice. The league first mandated that one team wear white and the other a darker color so that viewers could tell the teams apart on black-and-white televisions.
Jersey color selections also can involve a bit of strategy. Home teams often choose to wear white at home for early-season games. Why? Because white jerseys reflect the suns rays, while dark colors absorb and retain more heat.
In addition, each club can wear a league-approved optional uniform such as the Steelers bumblebee throwback uniforms for up to three games in the regular season, and an unlimited number of games during the preseason. Those selections also must be submitted to NFL Football Operations by July 1 each year. Visiting teams can wear an optional uniform too, but only if the NFL determines it is of sufficient contrast with the home teams jersey color.
ExpandTo maintain fairness among all 32 teams and their players, the NFL banned tear-away jerseys in so runners couldnt use them to escape tackles. Kicking shoes cannot be modified. Players cannot wear headgear or any other equipment or apparel that in the opinion of the uniform inspector or the referee may confuse an opponent because its color is similar to a footballs.
The NFLs rules regarding the equipment that players can wear during games, minicamps, training camps and practice sessions ensure the apparels quality. For example, the NFLs Foot and Ankle Subcommittee tests different shoes for durability and flexibility and recommends to players those it feels are the most comfortable and most durable.
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Inspectors also protect the NFLs commercial agreements: Only logos or brand names from the leagues official partners can be displayed.
Players may wear other brands, as long as they remove or cover the name or logo. For example, NFL compliance vice president Akil Coad said, if a player chooses to wear specially molded shoes from a company that isnt an official league partner, who are we to tell them not to wear it? Just dont show the mark.
The uniform inspectors job is to make sure that every player in violation of the rules is aware of it and has an opportunity to correct it. Hell talk directly to players and, a half-hour before kickoff, hell meet with a team representative to report problems. That employee must bring any player spotted with a violation back to the inspector for clearance before kickoff.
The inspectors job doesnt end after warm-ups; he notifies teams of any violations he spots during a game as well. Players and teams have the opportunity to get into compliance at the next change of possession or other appropriate stoppage in play. After the game, the inspector roams the locker rooms, checking to make sure that no nonpartner logos can be seen by reporters, fans or television cameras and then writes a summary of each game for the league.
For many violations, a player cannot go back into the game until the problem is corrected. Teams can be penalized 5 yards if after receiving a warning the player enters the game anyway. Failing to comply with league warnings can result in hefty fines.
Most players quickly and willingly come into compliance. All fines collected go directly to funds that benefit former players.
The NFL has many obscure rules that not a lot of people know about, from end zone celebrations and overweight fining to dress code rules and approved accessories. Since the official dress code is an especially interesting five-page-long policy, weve summarized the most interesting facts below, including the length of NFL players socks and how some of those rules started out.
NFL players are required to dress in a certain manner that conveys professionalism; the image of the league is reflected in the players appearance on the field, which directly affects the NFLs reputation and advancement. Appropriately, the leagues uniform and equipment policy was created, with the players safety and professionalism as the main priority.
Some of the guidelines for the NFL dress code include team jerseys that must be tucked in and towels that are only allowed to be placed into the front waist of a players pants. Mandatory equipment that is to be worn by all players, with the exception of punters and kickers, include shoulder thigh and knee pads.
The NFL even has rules regarding the length of players socks, and they are not flexible. In other words, if the socks are too low showing some skin, fines have and will be set in motion. With more on that below, lets dive into how that rule came into the books.
In , Elmer Layden, who was the commissioner of the National Football League from to , decided among other things that NFL players have unsightly legs that should be covered by long stockings. Since then, the rule has been actively adopted in the NFL policy and is still in the books today stockings must cover the entire area from the shoe to the bottom of the pants, and must meet the pants below the knee. Players pants are also not allowed to be cut or altered in any way, per the NFL rulebook.
The tradition of playing the National Anthem for all NFL games was the idea of Elmer Layden in . One of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame as a player in , he was commissioner of the NFL between -46.
Tim Bourret (@TimBourret) June 9,
Even though this policy sounds like it could entail some flexibility with players, there have been athletes who got fined for wearing socks too low during an NFL game.
In , San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore attracted a whopping $10,500 fine for wearing pulled-up socks. When youre playing, you dont think about it, Gore said. Youre trying to win.
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster was also fined $5,000 in a game against the Tennessee Titans for failing to cover his lower leg during the game.
Even with all the NFL fines weve seen over the years, getting fined for showing some leg skin is definitely one of the crazier ones.
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