Today the Dallas Cowboys take the field for the beginning of the 2016 pre-season, with questions still swirling around the participation of QB Tony Romo. Normally, as a Jets fan, I wouldn’t pay too much attention to America’s Team, but there are some off the field controversies as well. During their training camps, the Cowboys have been sporting decals on their helmets which pay tribute to the fallen Dallas Police Officers who were murdered during an ambush earlier this year. Their stated intention had been to wear them throughout the season, but now the NFL front office has weighed in and squashed the idea. (Fox News)

The NFL denied the Dallas Cowboys’ request to wear a decal on their helmets during the season that would have paid tribute to the five police officers killed last month in an ambush.

The team had been wearing a decal with the words “Arm in Arm” since the first day of training camp this summer. Dallas police Chief David Brown and Mayor Mike Rawlings paid the team a visit on that day, according to Fox 4 News.

The NFL’s strict rules on uniforms forced the league to deny the Cowboys’ request to wear the decal for the upcoming season.

The Cowboys’ management is being rather sanguine about it, saying that the decals and the attention they brought to the issue already served the desired purpose, but not everyone is satisfied. The Dallas Fallen Officer Foundation responded by saying they were hurt by the decision and the knowledge that the league wasn’t fully supporting them.

It’s true that the league has some very strict rules regarding uniforms and they tightly guard their public appearance… most of the time. When the Chicago Bears’ Brandon Marshall wore orange shoes in a game against the Lions he was fined $10,500. (An amount he earned back on the first play of the game.) But when particular tributes and honors are suggested – or enforced – the league frequently takes a different route. In October they routinely plaster pink over uniforms and equipment in support of breast cancer awareness to the point where I get sick of seeing it. How is the cause of supporting our nation’s police officers less important?

Still, the pink leggings and other devices are all decisions which come from the league office and they apply to all the teams, not just one. With that in mind, while it still annoys me no end, I can see where the league has an argument to make in terms of not allowing a single team to begin customizing their gear beyond the normal team colors. Now if only we can get them to get rid of those throwback uniforms which look simply horrendous.