Custom cleats make their mark for charity
There’s no such thing as too much of a good thing. Not when it comes to the NFL’s “My Cause My Cleats.”
As the league assesses the firsttime program, which last weekend gave a platform to more than 60 charitable causes, here’s a suggestion: Make it a regular thing. Let the players wear the personalized — and deeply personal — cleats every week.
The potential to make a difference far outweighs the potential for oversaturation and the NFL’s obsession with uniformity.
“For a rare disease like Duchenne, it’s huge,” said Debra Miller, co-founder and president of Cure-Duchenne, which saw donations for its end-of-year campaign rise after Clay Matthews promoted the organization with his cleats and a Players’ Tribune essay.
“There are so many good causes ... and so many worthy causes. But many of the diseases that get the attention through mass media are the big diseases,” Miller added. “These smaller diseases that are devastating, and often affect children, don’t get the attention.”
The donations and money raised when the cleats are auctioned off will help researchers who know how to cure Duchenne but lack resources. This is no small thing given that Duchenne, a form of muscular dystrophy that predominantly affects boys, is usually fatal by age 30.
“I realize how strict (the NFL is) with what they do,” Miller said. “I’m just ecstatic that they went out beyond just the major disease groups to do good.”
Too often, NFL players — all athletes, really — get attention only for what they do off the field when it’s something bad. DUIs, drug arrests, domestic violence.
But that’s a small fraction of the population. Most players are decent citizens, and many recognize their status as pro athletes gives them the opportunity to make a difference in their communities.
Look no further than this week’s nominations for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. Most teams could have submitted four or five names from their 53man rosters. Sample other compa- nies, and I wonder if the percentage would be that high.
The “My Cause My Cleats” program was born out of Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis’ impassioned call for players to do more to make a difference, said Anna Isaacson, the NFL’s senior vice president of social responsibility. It was up to players if they wanted to participate and, if so, what organization or cause they wanted to promote. The only restriction, Isaacson said, was that it had to be tied to a federally recognized charitable organization.
More than 500 players took part and, except for Dorial Green-Beckham and his faux “Yeezy Foundation,” their messages were legitimate, sincere and, more often than not, deeply personal.
Hodgkin’s survivor Eric Berry’s cleats were purple, the color associated with the cancer he beat two years ago. Dak Prescott’s had “MOM” emblazoned on the side, a heartbreaking reminder of why he was promoting colon cancer awareness. Khalil Mack had “Auntie Glo” on his cleats supporting the Lupus Foundation of America.
Alzheimer’s, human trafficking, mental health, diabetes, local children’s hospitals, art education for disadvantaged kids — all these causes and more got a turn in the spotlight that they never could have managed on their own.
Even with its sagging television ratings, the NFL is still the biggest game around.
“If the NFL were to give more airtime to this program, I think we’d be raising more impressions, more hits and more awareness,” said Sandra Raymond, CEO of the Lupus Foundation, which saw its Facebook impressions jump to over 300,000, about 10 times more than a normal day. “We’re grateful to the NFL for this program, and we’d like to see it expand.”
The NFL is concerned that players wearing the cleats on a regular basis would lessen their impact, Isaacson said. But the Chicago Bears have been wearing GSH patches for 30-plus years now, and people still talk about George Halas. And if the NFL is worried about players violating uniform edicts that rival those at Catholic schools, guys are already wearing different cleats depending upon their endorsement deals.
The NFL is always talking about the great character of its players, guys who make an impact on and off the field.
Let them show it.