Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward received a fine for paying tribute to his late father in Week 5, but elected to wear the same tribute in Week 6 against the Arizona Cardinals.
Cameron Heyward pays tribute to his dad again, despite previous fine
Heyward took a fine in Week 5 to honor his father and was willing to take an even bigger one to honor his father again in Week 6.
Heyward’s father, Craig “Ironhead” Heyward, died in 2006 from bone cancer at age 39 when Cameron was only 17. He elected to pay tribute to his father by writing IRON and HEAD on his eye black strips, but revealed on Twitter that he received a fine from the NFL for the message.
Heyward said he did not get permission from the league to wear the eye black the second time, according to ESPN. He was fined the standard $5,787 the first time, and that fine is being appealed. Heyward said he plans to keep wearing the eye black, though the fine will escalate to $11,576 after Sunday.
Got fined for honoring my Dad who bravely fought cancer on my eye black. #Nevergiveup #CancerSucks pic.twitter.com/RTx988ijG9
— Cam Heyward (@CamHeyward) October 14, 2015 Heyward was a first-round pick in the 2011 NFL Draft and signed a six-year, $59.2 million extension in the offseason, so two fines totaling less than $20,000 probably aren’t a deal breaker for the lineman, but if he continues to refuse to adhere to the NFL’s dress policy, the fines will continue to rise or further punishment could be handed down.
Or the NFL could make an easy exception to their rule against personal messages and allow Heyward to honor his father, a former Pro Bowl running back who played for five teams in 11 seasons before dying before his 40th birthday. Don’t count on it, though.
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