NCAA Student-Athletes Can Now Wear Social Justice Statements On Uniforms
Jul 30, 2020, 12:11 PM
Utah Utes quarterback Tyler Huntley (1), his uniform is dirtied from the game, makes a call at the line of scrimmage in the third quarter at the Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl between the Utah Utes and the West Virginia Mountaineers in Dallas on Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2017. (Adam Fondren, Deseret News)
(Adam Fondren, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – NCAA student-athletes now have the opportunity to wear social justice statements on the front and back of their uniforms.
This decision comes at a time where student-athletes are using their individual platforms more than ever to bring change for causes they believe. Pro sports have been doing the same thing. The NBA is giving players the choice to wear social justice messages on the back of their uniforms.
The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved rules to allow student-athletes to wear patches on their uniforms for commemorative and memorial purposes as well as to support social justice issues: https://t.co/yjuEsMYMy7 pic.twitter.com/AdWLgFMZ0D
— Inside the NCAA (@InsidetheNCAA) July 30, 2020
In the NFL, reports have surfaced that players will have the autonomy to display social justice messages on their helmets.
The NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved the change and it will go into effect starting in the upcoming 2020-21 academic year.
Along with statements on the back of uniforms, student-athletes are also permitted to wear a patch on the front of their uniform.
The NCAA broke it down in greater detail in a press release issued on Thursday.
The patch on the front, which most sports already allowed, as authorized by the school or conference, may be a commemorative/memorial patch (names, mascots, nicknames, logos and marks) intended to celebrate or memorialize people, events or other causes.
The patch must not exceed 2¼ square inches and must be placed on the front or sleeve of the uniform. While not all team members are required to wear the patch, they must be identical for those who choose to wear them.
The second location is on the back of the uniform where the player name is traditionally located and, as authorized by the school or conference, will allow names/words intended to celebrate or memorialize people, events or other causes. The names or words may vary by team member.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12-3 pm) on KSL Newsradio. Follow him on Twitter: @Mitch_Harper.
