The NFL pays tribute to the military with their “Salute to Service” campaign during November. Coaches wear jackets with flags sewn on, and some players wear camouflage. It hardly makes up for all the Kaepernick foolishness, but on its own is a respectful initiative.
In an exciting turn of events, the Kansas City Chiefs decided to up the ante.
Instead of simply wearing military-themed sweatshirts for warmups prior to their game against the Jaguars, the Chiefs had the name of Gold Star recipients from the State of Missouri sewn across their chests. That alone would have made the episode noteworthy, yet the Chiefs went even further, giving each player a card that told the story of the fallen soldier whose name they honored, so the player could connect personally with that particular service member.
Chiefs players in warmups wearing names of fallen soldiers from Missouri/Kansas today, players were given card about soldier’s life pic.twitter.com/FUzv2JbYIp
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) November 6, 2016
No one blinks an eye at someone handing them a card with a football player on it. We’ve grown up with that, and the notion that we glorify athletic people who can run, jump, and hit. For the same reasons, no one thinks twice about wearing a jersey emblazoned with a player’s name, which makes it especially great to see the best athletes in the world honor true heroes in that same way. Well done, Chiefs.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter: @themightygwinn
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.