San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa wore a hat with a political message on it Sunday, and he may soon face punishment from the league.
After the 49ers beat the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, Bosa decided to crash the postgame interview that was taking place on NBC with three of his teammates.
When Bosa showed up, he was wearing a hat that said “Make America Great Again” – aka the slogan used by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The NFL has a rule in place that prohibits players from wearing or displaying political messages while they’re on the job. As noted by the San Francisco Chronicle, Rule 5, Section 4, Article 8 of the NFL rulebook is pretty clear about what players are allowed to wear and what they’re not allowed to wear once they get to the stadium on game day.
“Throughout the period on game day that a player is visible to the stadium and television audience (including in pregame warm-ups, in the bench area, and during postgame interviews in the locker room or on the field), players are prohibited from wearing, displaying, or otherwise conveying personal messages either in writing or illustration, unless such message has been approved in advance by the League office,” the rule states.
Items that players are prohibited from wearing include anything that relates “to political activities or causes, other non-football events, causes or campaigns, or charitable causes or campaigns.”
If the 27-year-old does get punished, it would be in the form of a fine.
Ironically, despite being allowed to talk about their politics during their press conferences, Bosa chose not to do that when asked about the hat after the game.
“I’m not gonna talk too much about it, but I think it’s an important time,” the Ohio State said. The 2024 election takes place on Nov. 5
Following the stunt, Bosa’s jersey has reportedly now become one of the top sellers both online and in person at stores across the country.
🚨BREAKING: #49ers DE Nick Bosa’s jersey has become the MOST POPULAR jersey on the NFL Shop since Bosa wore a Donald Trump, MAGA cap on Sunday night.
🤯
Bosa’s jersey has also sold out or nearly in many in-person stores across the country. pic.twitter.com/U2mizNnn31
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) October 29, 2024
Bosa is one of the best defensive players in the league, winning Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2019 and Defensive Player of the Year in 2022. His political views have been known for quite some time.
Heading into a bye week, the 49ers are now 4-4 and second in the NFC West. San Francisco’s defense allows 314.8 total yards per game, which ranks 10th best in the league.
