Cleats update
Titans coach Mike Mularkey says he’ll pay if Avery Williamson gets fined for wearing “9/11” cleats,
“I felt like I had to do that ... to represent the people that were lost and the people that do their jobs every day to protect us.”
Tennessee Titans coach Mike Mularkey was not only supportive of linebacker Avery Williamson’s decision to violate the NFL’s uniform code, but he also pretty much directed him to do so.
And Mularkey said Monday he would handle any fine the league imposed on Williamson for wearing custom patriotic cleats during the Titans’ home opener against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
“Well, I said, ‘I’m going to shoot you straight like I shoot everybody straight. If you don’t wear those shoes, I’ll be very disappointed in you. Because all I want from you guys is to do things the right way,’ ” Mularkey said. “And him wearing those shoes is doing something the right way.
“If he gets a fine, I’m going to take care of that.”
Williamson had originally planned to wear the star-spangled blue cleats with red-and white-striped Nike swooshes to honor those who died, but to avoid becoming a distraction he changed his mind when an NFL representative called to inform him about a looming fine for violating uniform code.
Williamson changed his mind again Saturday after The (Nashville) Tennessean’s report about the situation went viral. Several of his teammates offered to help pay the fine if he wore the cleats, as did four New York and New Jersey police associations, including the union that represents the police department that patrols the World Trade Center complex.
“I just felt like I got so much support across the country, and especially when the New York and New Jersey police unions said that they would pay my fine, that really meant a lot,” Williamson said after Sunday’s game. “So I felt like if I didn’t wear them, I just wouldn’t have felt good about it. I felt like I had to do that, just for myself and to represent the people that were lost and the people that do their jobs every day to protect us. I feel like it was just a duty.”
Titans general manager Jon Robinson patted Williamson on the chest during team warm-ups, when the linebacker was wearing plain white cleats, the same as his teammates.
Williamson said he wore the plain cleats to avoid NFL representatives approaching him before the game and that Robinson and Mularkey were supportive of his decision.
“I just didn’t want it to be a distraction, and they were fine with it,” Williamson said, “so I went ahead and did it.”
In addition to the patriotic color scheme, Williamson’s cleats, airbrushed by True Blue Customs in Lexington, Ky., featured the words “Never Forget” and “9/11” on the back of the shoes, with the “11” representing the Twin Towers. The NFL mandates all teammates wear the same color scheme on their shoes.
Williamson says he’ll be auctioning off the cleats to benefit Operation Warrior Wishes and will be offering a meet-and-greet, two VIP tickets to a Titans home game and an autographed jersey.
“I’m going to try to get a couple of veterans to come to a game,” Williamson told The Tennessean on Friday. “I feel like just reaching out to people, helping them, somebody that’s served our country, I feel like that’s a great honor, so I wanted to do something nice for them. I feel like it’s a great cause.”
Avery Williamson on his patriotic shoes