Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward met with the NFL and agreed not to wear the "Iron Head" eye black that drew attention and earned him a controversial fine from the league.
Cameron Heyward agrees to not wear ‘Iron Head’ eye black
The Steelers defensive lineman will wear regular eye black for the rest of the season without the words ‘IRON HEAD’ written on it.
Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Heyward, drew a $5,787 fine in Week 5 for breaking the personal messages policy in the NFL’s dress code, but proudly paid tribute to his father, Craig “Iron Head” Heyward, in Week 6, as well. The second offense was due to cost Heyward $11,576 but ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler says the total cost of his rule violation was significantly cut by the NFL.
Still, the Steelers lineman announced on Twitter that he didn’t intend to garner the attention he did and that he would elect to honor his father, who died of bone cancer in 2006, in other ways. One is that he announced a partnership with EyeBlack to sell “Iron Head” strips to raise money for the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation.
Here's an update on my EyeBlack pic.twitter.com/miFUzcO8Cj
— Cam Heyward (@CamHeyward) October 21, 2015 The NFL refused to make an exception for Heyward, but one wouldn't be unprecedented. Just last year, Cincinnati Bengals defensive lineman Devon Still wore eye black with the words "Leah Strong," and said he received zero backlash from the league. On Tuesday, Still expressed his support of Heyward's message and said he saw "nothing wrong" with the tribute.
In his first four seasons, Heyward’s stats have slowly improved for the Steelers, including 7.5 sacks as a full-time starter for the team in 2014. This year he has two sacks in the first six games after signing a six-year, $59.2 million contract in the offseason.
His father, Craig Heyward, played 11 seasons as a running back in the NFL, tallying 4,301 rushing yards and 34 total touchdowns in his career. He earned Pro Bowl seasons with the Atlanta Falcons in 1995 with more than 1,000 yards on the ground.
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