Why 49ers’ Nick Bosa could face NFL punishment for wearing political hat during crashing of postgame interview

After the San Francisco 49ers beat the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night, Nick 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.” 

According to the Washington Post, the NFL is now reviewing the situation for a possible rules violation. However, the league isn’t expected to issue a decision on the matter before next week, which means Bosa probably won’t learn his fate until after the election. 

Although Bosa is free to wear that hat whenever he wants outside the stadium, he could end up facing a punishment for wearing it inside the stadium. 

The saying on the hat is Donald Trump’s political slogan, and 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. 

So where does the political part come in? 

Things that players are prohibited from wearing include items that “relate to political activities or causes, other non-football events, causes or campaigns, or charitable causes or campaigns.”

It’s a non-partisan rule. If a player wore a Kamala Harris hat on game day, they’d also potentially be subject to an NFL punishment. If Bosa does get punished, it would likely be in the form of a fine. 

On the other hand, players ARE allowed to talk about their politics during their press conferences, but Bosa chose not to do that on Sunday. The 49ers star was asked about his hat after San Francisco’s win and he didn’t have much to say about the situation. 

“I’m not gonna talk too much about it, but I think it’s an important time,” Bosa said. 

The NFL has already fined at least one player this year for violating this section of the rulebook. Steelers wide receiver George Pickens was hit with a $10,000 fine for displaying a personal message in his eye black during a Week 5 game against the Cowboys, and now, Bosa could also be facing a similar fine.