San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been fined $10,000 for wearing pink Beats By Dre headphones at last Sunday’s game.
Kaepernick chose to wear the bright pink Beats headphones to pay homage to breast cancer awareness. At this time, CNET says Kaepernick refuses to state whether Beats will be paying his fines.
The fines comes as a result of the NFL’s sponsorship with Bose. Last week, players were banned from wearing Beats headphones on television. All players had been informed they were prohibited from wearing Beats headphones while conducting interviews, during training camp or practice, or on game days. They are not allowed to be seen wearing Beats headphones within 90 minutes of a games start and its end.
The Verge reports that Beats responded, stating that the Bose sponsorship should not effect the DNA of athletes.
Kaepernick and several other high-profile NFL players have endorsement deals with Beats. Last year, he starred in a popular Beats ad that depicted him tuning out the negative comments of opposing fans by wearing Beats noise-blocking headphones.
This is not the first time NFL has taken such a stern stance when it comes to players promoting products that are not NFL sanctioned.
Back in 2008, Brian Urlacher of the Chicago Bears was fined a whopping $100,000 for wearing a cap the NFL labeled “unauthorized.” Urlacher’s hat said VitaminWater, and the NFL’s official drink, is of course, Gatorade.
Headphones have become the in accessory for athletes to sport in public. Many believe that Kaepernick wore the headphones for Beats as a statement, and that in the end, Beats will happily stroke a check.
This is not Kaepernick’s first time in the media spotlight. Back in April of this year, Kaepernick was involved in a domestic violence situation that took place at a Miami hotel. This reported incident also involved 49ers wide receiver Quinton Patton and Seahawks receiver Ricardo Lockette.
The incident involved a unnamed woman. The woman was in the room with the three men and somehow woke up in a hospital with no recollection of how she got there or what had taken place back at the motel. Back in April, TMZ reported that Kaepernick was under investigation for an alleged sexual assault. TMZ at the time said the investigation was in the beginning stages.
The incident was reported to police by the woman on April 3. No official charges were ever filed against Kaepernick, Patton, or Lockette.