The NFL is slowly working their way up to being as hated as much as the NCAA. DeAngelo Williams lost his mother, Sandra Hill, to breast cancer in May 2014. He has steadily advocated for breast cancer awareness and wanted to wear pink shoes or pink wristbands in honor of the cause throughout the season, not just October which is the designated month. Unfortunately he was told no by the NFL.
Williams was told over the phone by NFL vice president of football operations Troy Vincent that he couldn’t wear pink accessories throughout the season because there are no exceptions to the uniform policy, the Pittsburgh Steelers running back told ESPN on Monday night.
How did the news make Williams feel?
“The same way it made you feel after you heard it — like, man,” he said. “He told me no. I’m assuming they are telling everybody else no as well. … It wasn’t about selling it. You know and I know and everybody else knows before I made the phone call.”
Williams said he is purchasing 53 mammograms tests — in honor of his mother’s age when she died — for a hospital in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he played nine NFL seasons for the Carolina Panthers, and in Pittsburgh.
Williams told Salters: “It’s not just about October for me; it’s not just a month, it’s a lifestyle. It’s about getting women to recognize to get tested.”
Williams has also dyed the tips of his dreads pink in honor of Breast Cancer awareness since he’s unable to wear pink on the field past October.
*photos in gallery above*
