Tennessee Titans linebacker Avery Williamson detailed why he changed his mind over the custom 9/11 remembrance cleats he had made for Sunday’s game.
The NFL threatened to fine Williamson if he wore the cleats, but he defied that and wore them anyway after receiving wide support.
“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, via Jason Wolf of the Tennesseean. “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.”
Williamson said coach Mike Mularkey and general manager Jon Robinson were behind Williamson’s plan.
“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.”
Williamson has been praised by New York and New Jersey’s police associations for wearing the cleats, both of which offered to pay the fine that the NFL said they would bring down upon the player. The Port Authority Police Department union, which is responsible for policing the World Trade Center, did the same.
